We Need Unmonopolized Access to iPhones, Not Your Stinking Health Care Reform.

Be forewarned, it's Soapbox Thursday and I'm all fired up. No photos today. Just words.

Breaking news: The Justice Department is contemplating whether to bust up the gosh-darned monopoly Apple and AT&T have created with their iPhone deal. Members of Congress (their children) and staffers are strapped with Blackberries because D.C. is dominated by Verizon coverage. Blackberries were so 2008. Waaaah! The people demand iPump Pilates apps. Oh also, insured people are still having to pay $22,000 to birth children.

Just this month, Jesse and I went through the process of terminating my health insurance coverage with my former employer to put me under his plan. It's kind of been a pain in the butt; a necessary pain nonetheless. Because I worked for a small company (under 15 employees) my coverage was provided through a broker in the private market, with premiums paid in full by my employer until I terminated employment. For the past year, I have been able to reimburse my employer for those premiums and keep my old coverage. Maybe if I had read the fine print, I would have switched over sooner.

Today, I read a truly horrifying article about a freelance writer who recently had a baby. She and her partner shopped around for private insurance in Washington, D.C. and signed up for the exact same plan that I was provided by my former employer -- reportedly with the best maternity policy you could find on the private market in the area. To my surprise, I found out that maternity costs are not included in this standard policy, or very many privately purchased plans in the U.S. for that matter. With this plan, you pay an extra premium each month for the "Maternity Rider" or as I see it, the "Let's Dictate What You Do In Your Personal Life Rider."

Shockingly, only 14 states in the country require that maternity coverage be provided in the private market, whereas companies with more than 15 employees are mandated by federal law to include it in their benefits package. Effectively, it's a renegade, unregulated market for anyone who is un(der)employed, working for a small company, or in a non-traditional job and doesn't qualify for Medicare or Medicaid. I don't feel that I'd be incorrect in stating that this is the case for many people in Portland (including me, except I'm lucky enough to be married to someone with coverage). Now this maternity rider, under my former plan, must be purchased before you become pregnant, otherwise your fetus stands as an existing condition and you are ineligible -- some insurance providers even require a 2-year waiting period to be eligible for maternity coverage.

To me, that's akin to submitting a claim for a kidney transplant, and instead of getting approval for the surgery, you receive a form letter reminding you that you didn't sign up for the organ failure rider/your organs failed before the 2-year probationary period. (Kindly though, they provide a list of synagogues to contact in New Jersey. Heh. I kid.) Also, the idea of having to notify my employer (who would then notify my insurance provider) that I intend to get pregnant sometime in the future seems like a giant invasion of privacy, not to mention hedging on rather expensive future events that may not even happen. This is especially true of a small office, like mine, where the designated HR department also happened to be the office manager and the business owner.

Upon reading the article further, I found that the aforementioned maternity rider only covers pre-natal, delivery, and post-natal costs up to $3,000. Anyone who has been to the doctor recently knows that just a standard visit costs upwards of $300, and that merely involves peeing in a cup and wearing an uncomfortable, backless, rigid paper gown. Thankfully family planning, or rather ensuring that ours doesn't expand at the moment, has been a big part of my existence on our current shoestring budget. However, accidents happen. Two of our close friends were surprised (and overjoyed, may I add) with a third addition to their households this past year. Alright, getting to the conclusion:

Health care is a right, not an opportunity for profit. It's a right, not a privilege that has to be earned. It is a right, we should demand a system that works for everyone, not just those who can (or think they can) afford it. It's a right, because someday I, and you, may really need it.

Another piece to check out, if you are so inclined: Bill Moyers on the sneaky tactics of health insurance companies in America. It's shameful.