Written by Thao Nguyen, Outreach Manger,
National Women's Law Center
Yesterday I had one of those weird phone calls. The kind where, as soon as you get off the phone, you immediately go through your contact list looking for someone you can tell about it. The kind that makes you stop that downstairs neighbor you haven’t spoken to in three years and recount the story to her. The kind that inspires you to drop everything and write a post for your organization’s blog. On a Sunday night.
http://nwlc.blogs.com/...
The call was from my friend, Lucy.* She was calling to tell me that she and her boyfriend of 10 years recently got married.
Okay, I suppose since you don’t know them this might not be mind-blowing to you. But Lucy and her beau, Dan,* had one of those painful relationships where the woman was hinting, making banners, and going just short of taking a full-page out in The New York Times to beg her boyfriend to propose to her — and he just couldn’t seem to get around to it. But Lucy, who works with bankers and lawyers for a living, has the patience of a saint.
And so 10 years have come and gone. Which makes today, for all the friends who have been rooting for her (and who may or may not have been condemning her boyfriend for his lack of action), a momentous time that rivals the recent replacing of judges. (Yeah – I was shocked by the Ellen announcement too.)
So when I heard that the wedding, this miracle of all miracles, had actually taken place, I made some popcorn, got a glass of wine, and snuggled up on the sofa, expecting a long story about how Dan finally came to his senses. Only to have Lucy matter-of-factly tell me, "I don’t have a job anymore and the COBRA was too expensive. No health insurance, so marriage."
Her point seemed so logical, but the entire idea was couched in such an insane reality I was simply speechless. Lucy is in her early 30s but she has a pre-existing condition so buying individual health insurance and the unfair, overpriced premiums that come with itwas out of the question. Lucy has been living with Dan for 10 years, but unfortunately, he works for a company that doesn’t offer domestic partner benefits.
I couldn’t help but think: is this what our broken, unstable health care system means for millions of Americans around the country? As the economy continues to struggle, employers continue to shed jobs, and every day 14,000 more Americans wake up realizing that they are now uninsured and just one illness away from financial ruin. Are reluctant bachelors around the country going to put away their Megan Fox posters, cancel the "poker nights" (aka X-Box marathons – we’re on to you), and start settling down?
Never in my 30 years as a single woman had I ever been more excited (read: hopeful). And never in my time as a health reform advocate had the desire to send Karen Ignagni flowers and chocolates been greater.
Of course, this all came crashing down when I was standing in a store and looking for a "Sorry you are unemployed and uninsured — but congratulations on getting married!" card. The thing is, Dan loved Lucy, and they would have eventually married. And Lucy was proud of her career and financial freedom. She wanted to get married — but not for health insurance. The only card she needed was one that would allow her to go to the doctor and get the medical care she depended on.
Lucy’s always told me she’s not political. She’s practical. And so, channeling her, I want to know – Why has making health care affordable, accessible, and comprehensive for all Americans become all about politics ? What has happened to that simple truth — that the health care system is broken, and we shouldn’t wait for more people to die, get sick, or have to marry someone to get health insurance? Why do we continue to accept our broken health care system the same way we have accepted other incredibly wrong things the world?
Perhaps a more apt wedding present for my friends is a call to action. It’s time to make sure Lucy and Dan are not the norm. We need to ensure that all Americans have stable insurance that they can count on.It’s time to call on our Members of Congress to make this a reality for us all today.
*Names were changed
Cross-posted from NWLC's blog.