For as long as I live, I’ll never forget the moment I heard that the Supreme Court upheld President Obama’s health care reform and I’ll never forget watching President Obama address the nation on CNN with our baby girl.
From the time I became an adult in the eyes of the law to the time I filed my dissertation at UCLA in 1997 at thirty years of age, I was a student and was covered thanks to my affiliation with the university. But when I moved to New York and ultimately became a freelance translator and writer, affordable health insurance became a challenging personal issue for me: even in the toughest of times (like the years that followed the tragedy of the World Trade Center and the more recent financial crisis), health insurance was a luxury that I simply could not do without, lest my family be burdened with the cost of my care in the case I fell ill.
I’m fortunate to enjoy good health. And thanks be to G-d, Tracie and Georgia P are both healthy as well.
But now that I am a father and a business owner who insures his whole family, including our dear Georgia P, the news of the Supreme Court decision bolsters my hope that our daughter will grow up in a more “human” United States of America.
I thought that I was going to cry when the president said that insurers will no longer be allowed to deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions and that they will no longer be able to charge women more for coverage simply because they are women.
It’s still mind-boggling to me: we were the only rich country in the world that had yet to embrace a policy of universal coverage.
What a momentous day to hold our sweet baby in my arms and to change her diaper. What a glorious day for America.
I voted for Obama in 2008 and I’ll vote for him in November. I hope that you’ll do the same.
G-d bless the President and G-d bless America.
Do Bianchi by Jeremy Parzen 