As today is a very important election day, it made me think of how diabetes has swayed my vote at times. Not really a conscious decision, but as an intelligent, self employed adult, I had to research the candidates and determine with all of the political bullshit, who actually cared about my well being and pursuit of happiness considering the obstacles I might face with this disease.
In October, 2012, DiabetesMine published an article, The Politics of Diabetes in Election Season. As I read the article, I scrolled down to the comment section and was shocked by an anonymous writer. It spoke to me for a number of reasons.
The anonymous writer shared: As a child, my father coached me from an early age that I could not be an artist, an entrepreneur, a small business owner… in short, he coached me I could NOT be ANYTHING I wanted to be.
The reason for this was simple. I had Type 1 diabetes and unless I worked for a big company, I would never be able to get coverage by myself.
Luckily I grew up being ‘okay’ with working for a big company, but that fear of a major complication setting in, and me being unable to work to maintain coverage is overwhelming. Most folks don’t understand that a company has no obligation to cover you if you can no longer work. Cobra only lasts so long. If you are disabled ‘enough’ to not be able to work, but not ‘enough’ to qualify for SS disability medical coverage, you are royally screwed.
Denying folks with pre-existing conditions coverage is evil. But you can’t have one without the other. You can’t say we’ll cover anyone with a pre-existing without having enough money to pay for it. And that ability to pay for it means everyone has to have coverage (or everyone would just wait for calamity to happen and then enroll).
I am everything this person’s father said they could not be! Should I ever meet this man, I might punch him in the eye. How dare he instill fear in his child about not being covered by insurance? I’ve had to face reality a number of times in my life when it came to the sacrifices I was making to pursue my dream and don’t think not being able to get insurance should be one of them. I can ramble about this subject for days – and there is not time – I need to vote.