Sick(o): Universal Care

I got sick when I returned from Canada. Seems like I'm always getting ill when I return from trips: in September when I returned from Fiji (could have been the 11-hour flight with no liquids—no bottled water, no throat spray); in January when I returned from Florida; and now. I had a blissful couple of days when it seemed like I just had a cold, and I got better. I had two days of normalcy, then the fever kicked in again, and I got a full-blown sinus infection.

The thing is, I was supposed to be done with sinus infections, more or less. I had surgery on my sinuses in December (then got a massive sinus infection during recovery.) My father had the same surgery and was infection-free for five years. I got six months, an improvement over my every-three-months average, but somehow 50 percent fewer infections doesn't seem adequate relative to the surgery.

I really wish I could get colds like normal people: a few days of sniffles, coughing, and fatigue, then a predictable recovery. Instead, I have what feels like a chronic illness without the diagnosis of a chronic illness.

This leads me to believe that I can't possibly have a career in an anthropological field. Long stretches of time in developing countries, subject to diseases that require antibiotics, and available antibiotics limited to the ones that I am allergic to or intolerant of? Probably not a good idea. Now I'm brainstorming careers that will allow me to be sick for a week or more at regular intervals. Ideas, anyone?

I'm currently working freelance, and I'm very lucky to be covered by Kevin's health insurance. Kevin may graduate in December, though, so then what will I do? And what if I need to continue to work freelance to accommodate my health? I have a "pre-existing condition," exercise-induced asthma, which can bump up my insurance costs (even though I rarely use an inhaler). Again, I am fortunate to live in California where insurance companies are not allowed to penalize people for pre-existing conditions ... as long as they are consistently covered. Gap insurance, by the way, is very expensive.

Recently, a news story has been making the rounds: Americans are no longer the tallest and longest-lived compared to citizens of the other industrialized nations. In a study by the University of Munich, researchers discovered that several European countries have pulled ahead of us—including East Germany. The reason? An abundance of bad food and a dearth of accessible health care.

I want my health insurance to be a given. I don't want to have to spend so much time and energy worrying about whether I will be covered, researching my coverage, and wrangling with "representatives." I'd like to see the doctor I want, when I need her. I'd like to know that I won't be bankrupted if I get truly sick or in an accident. I don't want to wait to take care of my health issues until I can afford it. And I can't imagine that anyone in this country feels differently.

The time is ripe for universal coverage (and a single-payer system in particular), and I think we should insure that every single Democratic candidate—and at least some Republican ones—include it as a pillar of her or his platform.

Michael Moore's latest film, Sicko, will be out on June 29th. Moore's film, I've heard, has flaws, but it presents a tremendous opportunity: Moore is calling for a movement, for everyone who is concerned about this issue to write to their representatives, post their own films on YouTube, and support organizations that advocate for universal care. See all of his suggestions here.

For those in California, state senator Sheila Kuehl is at the sponsor of SB 840, the California Universal Healthcare Act. (Bonus! She's an out lesbian!)

I'm off to hold my head over a bowl of steaming water and eucalyptus oil now...