Heath Care Reform: Scott Hinkley

I work as an independent contractor, and while I am now a working union member, I have spent almost all of my time up until this point outside the union umbrella, which means I provide my own insurance. I am fortunate to have a relatively clean bill of health, so my premiums have stayed low, but so has my coverage. While I will now ultimately see the cost of my union plan increase, since it will be considered a "Cadillac" plan, i still think it will be cheaper for me in the long run if people have health insurance, mostly so we can help people rediscover health.

The single biggest reason I want something that approaches universal coverage is that putting people in charge of their own health hasn't worked very well, and leaving it up to corporations has produced the most obese and over-medicated society to date. I am not a fix-it-with-government guy, but they are the closest thing we have to neutrality, even if they aren't exactly non-profit, and either way, they are the only organization with the authority over everyone. I want people to be more healthy because currently looking at American body-types makes me barf in my mouth and feel sad at the same time. I am ashamed that corporate greed has encouraged so much indulgence mixed with self-loathing. If you made money off of selling products that helped get us into this mess (I'm looking at you too Starbucks), you should feel fortunate that average Americans are willing to share the burden rather than asking you to pay it back proportionately.

I know government and business are perpetually intertwined, and that many things will come from the health care bill will go against my better judgment, but how can we talk of universal coverage until we support choices we wouldn't make ourselves? Ideological xenophobia is also BORING.

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