Youth Have a Stake in Health Reform, Too

Erica Williams, the Deputy Director at Campus Progress, has a great piece up at CP's blog on economic investment, Funding Our Future. Williams uses CNN's recent poll showing youth to be the strongest supporters of the president's health care plan to point out some problems youth have encountered in trying to engage in dialogue surrounding this process.

Williams explains what many youth who vocally support the President's plan for health reform probably feel. As Williams and others advocate for the plan, engaging other, older Americans in intelligent discussion as to why its needed and why the scare tactics are nothing more than symbols of fear from an entrenched systemic oppressor, we are met with annoyance and condescension.

...Nevertheless, every day I try new responses to those that ignorantly assume I don’t care about health care reform because I’m under 30 and supposedly invincible.

I could tell them that health care reform is my fight because my partner, 25 years old, is an entrepreneur, consultant, and all around brilliant guy who cares more about professional fulfillment than financial gain and has thus been without insurance for 3 years. I’ve cried myself to sleep many a night over his lack of coverage, terrified that at any moment, an illness or accident could push us into financial ruin in the beginning stages of our life together.

I could tell them that health care reform is my fight because 60% of my friends (yes, I did the math…) have lost their jobs in the past 6 months and don’t go to the doctor. Or that my godmother died of cancer with health insurance that wouldn’t cover her treatment.

I could say that a young friend of mine is afraid to get a test that would tell whether or not he has a congenital heart disease because he is worried that he will forevermore have a pre-existing condition.

I could also tell you that in addition to being young, I’m a woman of color and that for my demographic in particular, health care is a life or death issue.

Chalk up our not being invincible as another one of those inconvenient truths. Young people make up 30 percent of the uninsured in this country, while only consisting of 15 percent of the population.

But Erica's right in that it's not all about numbers. We're invested in this debate not based on whether or not we're wholly or partially impacted by the mess our elders have created with the inefficient health care system. We're in it because it's simply wrong. It's an injustice. King's oft-quoted declaration of injustice anywhere serving as a threat to justice everywhere applies here.

As the future of this country, we most definitely have a place at the table for this discussion. It shouldn't be diminished. It shouldn't be taken away. It should be validated, because odds are, we're going to have to be the ones to clean up this mess.