When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was initially passed, I had mixed feelings. Like a lot of progressives, I had hoped for a more progressive healthcare reform bill, yet was pleased we were showing signs of slowly progressing on the matter, and knew it would have been next to impossible for my "ideal" healthcare law to have passed both houses of Congress on its way to the president's desk for signage. In hindsight, though, while I'd still love to see the ACA become more progressive, I'm thrilled it was passed and signed into law.
It's said regardless of a person's age, gender, race, creed, or orientation, we all have baggage. Unfortunately, most of my baggage comes in the form of health problems. I started suffering from seizures at a very young age and had a grand mal when I was 18, at which point the doctors spotted a brain tumor. I underwent surgery to remove the tumor four years later. Between 2009 and 2011 I suffered from a strange virus which lasted almost two years, as well as a gallstone attack, resulting in emergency surgery. About a year ago I suffered my first (and hopefully last) gout attack. Then this past December I suffered my first panic attack; the attacks continued for roughly three months before the medications started working. While I had healthcare coverage through 2011, I was unable to make a month's payment in 2012 and was immediately dropped from the plan. Due to pre-existing conditions, I was subsequently denied coverage from multiple insurance providers; this was until 2014 when the Affordable Care Act made such denials illegal. I may not have needed coverage through 2014 and half of 2015, but was grateful for it in the latter half of the year due to my gout attack, and think that if it weren't for the ACA providing me coverage these past 3-4 months, I'd either be bankrupt or dead.
It boggles my mind how the Affordable Care Act has been such a partisan issue. This isn't about winning an election or about riling the base for donations; it's about people's health and well-being - it's about people's lives. While I know I shouldn't take a person's political opinion personally, that's difficult to do when it comes to my health. On December 26th of 2015, my blood pressure escalated to 197/118, my heart-rate shot up to 155, I began losing feeling in my arms and legs, and told my mother I loved her and goodbye as I was rushed to the hospital. If it weren't for the Affordable Care Act, there's a decent chance I'd either be living on the street or buried in the ground. The Affordable Care Act is far from perfect, but whenever someone I know tries to make it political and suggests it should be repealed, I have to look him/her in the eyes and say, "Obamacare saved my life; what's it done to destroy yours?" While the phrase is often used sarcastically, I would sincerely like to say, "Thanks, Obama."
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