By Shannon Noel
"What would you do if you didn't feel trapped by your company's insurance plan," he asked. Just then the sun nestled itself down into the Pacific Ocean and a beautiful tan waiter brought me a Mai Tai with a swirly straw. It was a beautiful dream; me, the Rastafarian, and the sun lazing on the beach with not a worry in sight.
"What would I do? Everything. I would do as much as I could. I would teach kids to sing and dance. I would work part time at a Yoga Studio. I would work with cancer patients and help them create artistic expressions of their pain and new found insights. I would work only as much I needed to pay my bills and then I would play, spend time with my husband and travel to see our family. I would not sit at a desk all a day listening to the woes of pampered Beverly Hills octogenarians. I would not sit in traffic for three hours every day. I would go back to school, work part time, leave my 9-7 and explore the world."
"Well why don't you just do that?" he asked as he brushed away his dreadlock.
"I need the health insurance. My medical record is not perfect. I have a history of cancer and no one will insure me privately. If they do it will be for a minimum of $500 a month, it will not cover anything related to my cancer and after a year they will drop me for some reason they can't explain properly."
"Do you really need the health insurance?"
"Well, I'm about to have a baby so I feel like it might be a good idea."
"I see, I see."
"I'm lucky to have it at all I guess. It came in quite handy when I was faced with cancer in my nose. I cannot even imagine what our costs would have been for over 11 surgeries and radiation. I felt blessed at the time, now I feel damned-- even cursed-- for having had a "disease."
"What if the stress from this job that you abhor made your cancer worse?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, if you had been doing all of the things that you loved, living an anxiety free lifestyle, maybe your body wouldn't have gotten sick in the first place. Look at me, mon," he said as he lay back in his hammock listening to the sounds of the waves crashing along the pristine white beach.
My alarm jolted me just then. Time to get up, go to work and make a living.
I recently met a woman who lives in Calgary, Alberta. "Alberta has a publicly administered and funded health care system that guarantees Albertans receive universal access to medically necessary hospital and medical services." (Direct quote from www.relocatecanada.com)
I asked my new friend how she felt about her health care system as compared to the US. She expressed all the pros and the one and only con: waiting in the 'que' for certain procedures. Because of this some Canadians drive to the US for private care.
She could not imagine choosing a job solely for its health care benefits. She works as a freelance Feng Shui consultant, a job that does not come with health benefits in the US. She loves her life, is super healthy and has two happy and healthy Canadian children. She was especially disturbed by the fact that "we" Americans were spending 5 billion dollars a day on a war when we have 3.5 million sick and homeless individuals living on our streets.
"Why not funnel that money into national healthcare and programs to help the homeless? If you want my honest opinion," she said with a pitying glance, "it's almost embarrassing for us Canadians to live so close to you."
I know that there are lots of happy and healthy Americans living the life that they love. Some of them are working full time jobs that inspire them as well as providing them health benefits. Some of them are married to a partner whose company allows them to join their plan. Some of them have never had a cough or a broken bone, much less cancer or kidney failure. Some of them are wealthy and need not worry about the costs of private insurance.
But what about the rest of us? Those of us who want to work hard but our chosen fields don't necessarily involve a corporation or a union. The free lancers, the artists, those of us outside of the corporate structure. I would like to live in a world where everyone, no matter their passions, financial status or pre-existing medical record can truly make a life and not just a living.
Almost Embarrassing
09-24-08