Ever since it was announced, I have been arguing with those opposed to the Supreme Court's ruling. Of course health is a personal matter for all of us, but this ruling really struck a chord with me.
My mom became deathly sick in 2006 while taking a drug that lowered her immune system. How something that mimics one of the side effects of AIDS is on the market is a rant for a different day. However, while she was sick she was in the hospital for about a month and a half. She went through an induced coma, collapsed lungs, bad reactions to the antibiotics and other medications, and a host of other problems. Luckily, my mother came home, and we all breathed a sigh of relief.
But then the bills started coming. My dad is a very responsible man, and he promptly paid those bills, even though it tested his patience and stretched him to his limit. My mom was on disability after working hard her entire life, so there wasn't as much money coming in as before. I don't claim to know their exact financial situation, but I do know that the costs were astronomical. During the course of their 30+ year marriage, my parents dutifully paid their bills, carried insurance, and were still nailed to the wall by the healthcare system.
Four years later, my mother became sick again. Everything she had been through before came back with a vengeance. The doctors discovered that she was suffering from pulmonary hypertension. The one drug that could help her was not covered by insurance. It made me so angry to know that their insurance denied a life-saving medication.
Of course my dad didn't blink when it came to agreeing to pay for it out of pocket, but it was too late by that point. Mom passed away on April 2, 2010, surrounded by those she loved. A couple weeks ago - over two years after she passed away - my Dad finally got the last bill from the hospital.
Everyone is running around claiming that the sky is falling, and this is going to ruin us. I'm proud of the fact that our president took a step forward in changing this corrupt system. I'm glad that he hasn't gone around flip-flopping and doing nothing like every other politician I've seen.
I don't know how everything is going to turn out anymore than I know what will happen each day I wake up. But I do know that no one should have to face financial ruin or become homeless just for the right to live.