Nobody can deny that health care reform has proven a contentious, divisive battle and an unrelenting exercise in negotiation. With the mention of health care and benefits, many Americans become defensive; worried about what it will mean to them ...what will they lose ... what will they gain ... what will they have access to that they never had access to before?

After months and months of wrangling, health care reform was passed in the House last a week ago Sunday by a razor thin margin. Of course, now that it's passed, we have to figure out exactly what Reform means. More than likely, considering the reams and reams of paper needed to print the bill, few people know everything that's contained in it.

One thing I do know is that insurance companies (as of 2014) will no longer be able to drop or turn down clients because of pre-existing conditions. Let's face it; almost everything is considered a pre-existing condition in today's American health care system. (It's beyond me how pregnancy, which ensures the endurance of the human race, has been deemed a "pre-existing condition," but then again maybe that's anecdotal evidence at how much of a mess our healthcare system is).

For those with Type 1 diabetes, who up to this point in time had been considered mostly uninsurable because of their condition, this measure offers much hope. First, hope for getting access to some sort of health insurance without being outright denied (and getting health insurance in this country really means getting access to healthcare).  Hope, secondly, that this will mean access to the American Dream, which we in this country often consider a right, and what I think is a need for all of us. 

The backbone of the country and our economy has been built on our unflagging entrepreneurial spirit. It's this very entrepreneurial drive that keeps us ahead of most, if not all, economies around the globe. But up to now, we've been depleting the pool of entrepreneurs by essentially rationing healthcare for the healthy (now that's almost an oxymoron). I wonder how many would-be Warren Buffets, Jeff Bezos' and Bill Gates may have decided not to take the proverbial leap into starting his or her own business because they had a pre-existing condition and would never have had access to any type of decent healthcare. If this is the case, then how many blockbuster business opportunities, and the jobs they create, have we lost out on?

What a shame for us. 

I recently read a post on Six Until Me, "Health Care Reform: How Does it Affect People with Diabetes?" in which blogger Kerri Sparling said, for diabetics "medical coverage takes precedence over a paycheck." She'd gone on to admit that she'd taken a job immediately after graduation that she had little interest in purely because she was afraid of losing her medical coverage, and that although she'd always wanted to start her own business, she'd been stopped by "pure and unadulterated fear."  Her post struck a cord with me.