Why I Do Not Have (or Want) Health Insurance

As a nursing assistant, I work on a bottom rung of the medical industry. I don't make much money-- barely enough for groceries and rent-- but it is undeniably important work. I cannot afford a weekly reduction in pay in order to have insurance. So I find myself providing basic healthcare to others which I may not have myself. But I'm really not complaining.

Sure, I could make insurance a priority, but why? If at some point I really need health care, I've learned from numerous examples that the insurance company won't necessarily pay. If I ever need it, because I am poor enough, there are charities that will cover costs after a little paperwork. Just ask your local hospital.

I do not have insurance because insurance is a wasteful system of which I want no part. I'd rather have to depend upon charity than to participate in an unnecessarily complex system whose purpose is capital gain. Though we in the United States spend more on healthcare than any other nation, we only rate 37th for quality of care, according to the World Health Organization's 2000 survey.

My motherly coworkers are often encouraging me to get insurance. Their hearts are in the right place, but I won't take their advice. Right now everyone could have access to healthcare under a simple single-payer system, but the money given to insurance companies is political power that only prolongs their inevitable demise.

I believe that a single-payer system will come to pass in our country. This is because money is not the most important thing. Insurance companies are made of people, and people are made of flesh, and flesh-and-blood people naturally crave efficiency. When insurance workers can see the big picture, they will want to do something more meaningful with their lives. Empty profit does not satisfy the soul.

There are frequent demonstrations for a change in our healthcare system all across the country, but especially in Washington DC. The next significant event will be on Thursday, July 30th in support of the expansion of Medicare proposed by Rep. John Conyers, Jr. It will be a celebration of Medicare's 44th birthday, and an opportunity for lobbyists to speak to representatives.

As an uninsured citizen and a devoted healthcare provider, I look forward to living and working within a reciprocal society, without fear of being abandoned by the very system to which I abandon myself.