Obama's Health Care Plan For My Friend

Healthcare. For everyone.

It's been on my mind and probably yours too if you're reading this post. If you're like me, someone with lifelong conditions like asthma and allergies, who has used or will use medications daily that in some cases are lifesaving (or at least, minimally, you cannot be without) then you cannot be without health care coverage. Thus, who is going to be elected and how they are going to clean up our current health care system is of great concern to us.

I was thinking about health care specifically as I was watching the Democratic National Convention. Sen. Barack Obama spoke so eloquently (and strongly) about what he stands for, about what is important to him, his party and his campaign. And about health care as a national issue of concern. Although I have health care coverage, I was thinking about a friend, an uninsured woman recently diagnosed with uterine fibroids and facing surgery without health insurance.

She's the third woman I know who has uterine fibroids. "African-American and women of Jewish descent are three [3] times more likely to develop uterine fibroids than Caucasian women." My personal experience completely corroborates those statistics.

One girlfriend, who is Jewish, has her "grapefruit" as she calls it. She had it during her pregnancy five years ago and it's still there. Even though she has health coverage, and her husband's a doctor, she doesn't go in; she doesn't want to know what her gynecologist will say.

Another friend, who is African-American with great health coverage through her law firm, had her uterine fibroids removed two years ago. Doctors told her it would be unlikely that she could get pregnant. Currently, she's five months pregnant. Mom and baby are both healthy and she goes in for regular check-ups.

My third friend, also African-American, just found out that she has uterine fibroids. What makes this story different is that this friend doesn't have health insurance. A few years ago she left her job with a city college, moved out west to live with her sister and has been freelancing ever since. Needless to say, she has been going without health coverage since she left her city job. That was working for her until now. She went to see a doctor because periods have been irregular, heavy, painful and lasting around 45 days. She finally had to go to the doctor where they discovered a grapefruit-sized uterine fibroid that needs to come out.

The new health care coverage plans?
So what will Obama do if he's elected to help someone like my friend, who is self-employed?

From Sen. Obama's site:

Obama's Plan to Cover Uninsured Americans: Obama will make available a new national health plan to all Americans, including the self-employed and small businesses, to buy affordable health coverage that is similar to the plan available to members of Congress.

The Obama plan will have the following features:
1. Guaranteed eligibility. No American will be turned away from any insurance plan because of illness or pre-existing conditions.