“At least you have your health.”
The phrase has become cliché and even the object of parody, but there comes a point when we appreciate it in full sincerity. That point, of course, is when we face our own health issues — even if temporary — and appreciate how all-consuming a broken bone, pinched nerve, chronic allergy, or persistent migraine can be.
As I’ve noted here before, health issues impact not only our quality of life in the moment, but also our fiscal health as we try to move on. A recent study found that health care costs contributed to nearly half of all bankruptcies in the country.
So all in all, our health care — and our health care coverage — are pretty important. I think most people are in agreement on that.
And yet so many of us know so little about either our health care or our health care coverage. As of last August, four in 10 Americans were unaware that the Affordable Care Act–Obamacare — was even the law. To echo another parodied line, “Keep your government hands off my Medicare!”
This paradox lies at the heart of much that we do at the National Health Law Program (NHeLP). Our mission is to protect and advance the health rights of low income and underserved individuals. Every day, that involves educating someone — a local health care advocate, someone seeking medical care, a policymaker — about how our health care laws work and about the real-world impact of those laws. Read the full article here. »
