It’s 2026, and it’s almost impossible to get good health insurance. Most jobs provide it, but they want a 10k (or more) deductible. Until you pay that off, you are not covered for things like medicine, medical procedures, office visits, or, if it comes to it, surgeries. In this day and age, it’s almost easier to get free Medicaid and not have a job, and I learned that a lot of my very needed medications range from $20 for something like anxiety medicine to $2000 for weight loss shots that also double for sleep apnea. I’ve had several surgeries, and without the medical card, I wouldn’t have been able to get them.
Other countries, like the UK, have free universal healthcare funded by the government and available for anyone regardless of their financial status, and hospital visits are fully funded by the government. Certain medications have a flat fee of 9 euros, but children, pregnant women, and individuals with certain medical conditions are exempt from that fee. In Ireland its similar, but there is a small fee, but any resident of Ireland for at least a year can legally get it.
Life is expensive, and even if you are completely healthy, you are bound to get sick eventually and maybe need to go to the hospital. The fact that the US government doesn’t see its people as important enough to keep them alive, and instead of spending it on that, they spend it on wars and other things that could ruin the country. Children don’t automatically get healthcare if they have asthma, diabetes, or even cancer; if their parents do not have insurance, they will not get help, and if we can’t even keep our children safe and healthy, how are we going to keep ourselves safe?
Stop funding road construction, building skyscrapers, or sending our young men to war, and start working on keeping them safe, alive, and healthy. I grew up as a sickly kid, and it was hard, and it’s because my doctor didn’t know what asthma was. Free healthcare for everyone, every life matters!
