I have lived 11 of the last 16 years without any form or health insurance. I have ignored a number of mild to moderate accidents, conditions, and illnesses over those years. Some have left permanent damage, some have negatively effected my quality of life, some are possible larger problems waiting to happen. All in all though, I remain, to my knowledge, relatively healthy. Luckily, the only major medical event, requiring surgery and hospitalization, happened during one of the five years that I was insured, and also while I was a legal alien in Italy, and so was completely covered. Certainly not everyone who finds themselves un- or under-insured is as lucky. And therein is the real crux of the issue. It shouldn’t be a matter of luck. Health should be, and in much of the world is, a universal human right.
