We all know healthcare in the United States is outrageously expensive. In an attempt to get everyone insured, the government even mandates you must pay a fine during tax season if you didn't have health coverage for more than half the year. I get it, fines are a way to negatively reinforce behavior, but it just seems counter-intuitive to charge people for not having health insurance. According to The Fiscal Times, 85% of people surveyed said they didn't have health insurance because they couldn't find a plan they could afford. I've been in the same position. In 2016, I went from a job that provided health insurance (paid with a percentage of my monthly paychecks) to a job that did not offer health insurance. I thought it would be okay since I was really excited about my new job and was hoping it would be a launching pad to success. I got a letter about COBRA and I read it over it because I did want to continue being insured. When you lose job-based insurance, you may be offered COBRA continuation coverage by your former employer, but the out-of-pocket rates I was offered were insanely high. I could not afford the costs for the plan I had before. I browsed the marketplace, but even the lowest-priced plans were too far of a stretch for my budget. I went without insurance, and that was a big mistake.

If you work around the public or in a school, having access to healthcare is a must. I worked in a school and kept catching colds and other bugs. But without health insurance, I couldn't afford to visit the doctor. I also had to drop one of my prescription medications, which really messed up my health. Things improved as soon as I got back on health insurance in 2017 and started taking the prescription again. I found that I missed many days of school due to being sick. In early 2017, I dislocated my kneecap while out with friends. I remember laying on the ground, begging someone to call an ambulance. My friends tried to console me, and I remember one of them saying over and over, "You can't afford to go to the hospital." But I had to, my kneecap was lodged on the other side of my knee and there was no way anyone there was going to able to lift me into a car and transport me to the hospital. Someone finally called the ambulance for me and there, I signed some consent forms.

Then came the bills. Luckily, as an uninsured patient, my hospital bills were cut in half. And I applied for financial assistance and my income was low enough for my hospital bills to be completely written off. I was lucky. I couldn't afford physical therapy, so, unfortunately, my muscles are still very weak. I still owe the bill for the ambulance that took me to the hospital that night. The x-rays were billed separately from everything else, but those have been paid off. I now have health insurance again, and I truly am grateful for that. But not everyone is as lucky.

My boyfriend has insurance through his job as well, but it is a very cheap plan. His deductibles and co-pays are much higher than what I have. He's still paying for the x-rays and hospital bills from when he broke his wrist in summer 2018. He refused to take an ambulance because he knew he didn't want to pay for it, so he walked two miles down a hiking trail back to the car and I drove him to the hospital. One of my best friends does not have health insurance, but in order to be able to miss a day at work, she's required to submit a doctor's note. However, there are times where visiting a doctor is not necessary. Sometimes, if you just have a cold or are vomiting, you're not going to go to the doctor, but you also really shouldn't be at work. Laws even state if you work in certain environments, you're not supposed to work if you're throwing up. So it doesn't make any sense to demerit someone for not going in just because they can't afford to visit a doctor.

In some states, the health insurance system can be really confusing. One of my other friends lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and she says there are two major insurance providers there. Most medical centers accept only one of the two providers, so she said you have to go to specific locations to be able to get affordable care. The hospital closest to her home, for example, doesn't accept her insurance provider. She has to travel 30-45 minutes away to be able to visit a hospital that can take her as an insured patient. In a life-threatening situation, this could be a huge problem.

The healthcare system can be difficult to navigate and understand. I believe the people who work on the ground, as doctors, nurses, and therapists, truly care about people and helping them. But as a whole, this system appears to completely revolve around money. It's sickening that people have to go to work sick or neglect injuries simply because they can't afford to get medical attention. People shouldn't have to choose between their well-being and rent.