I have never been without health insurance. It has been one of those necessary, expected standards imposed upon me since before I was responsible for my own health care. My parents made it clear that it was as essential as food, and insuring oneself is the primary piece of advice in almost any financial management book. As a result, I’ve sought after jobs with good benefits packages, never paid more than $20 at the doctor, had my teeth cleaned regularly, wear designer eyeglass frames, and paid only $50 for that one ambulance ride. Now, however, I am entering into an existence characteristic of starving artitude, investing most of my time in personal projects, withdrawing my investments from the corporations that have supported/owned me for the past decade. I still work the required minimum twenty hours at my current regular job to maintain health benefits but am beginning to consider plans for insuring myself at a point not so far off into the future.

I’ve done some research, seen the COBRA dollar signs, compared prices for when the COBRA time-frame expires (usually 18 months after a qualifying event: termination, hours reduction, etc.). Insuring oneself through an individual policy is not inexpensive; and where it is less so, the deductibles turn routine checkups into hefty debits. The decision is one weighing self-protection for possible future events against an immediate financial cushion in a not-so-lush period of transition.

Gathering opinions from those I trust has been interesting but not necessarily helpful. To either of my parents it’s a non-issue: insure, that’s the safe and responsible decision. Many of my friends are insured under sub-par policies provided by their employers, pay out of their paychecks toward premiums, have huge deductibles, and not much (knowledge or interest) to offer the conversation. (Most of these are covered under managed care plans, which limit provider choice to participants, sometimes excluding physician options, for example, who might be more sensitive to gender identity or sexuality.) Then there was a mental health professional who told me she didn’t have health insurance, didn’t necessarily think it was essential, and said she trusted that she would be provided for in the event of a medical emergency; and I actually witnessed that to be the case for her. Other friends of mine are uninsured, intentionally, and argue that soaring premiums and healthcare costs, uncapped and unguided by government regulations, are no less a stronghold in the corporate empirical value system than war profiteering.

The opinions are as disjointed as the healthcare system itself. Some even call it broken. In recent and developing legislation, there have been varied reports on the attempts of individual states to initiate universal coverage plans, spearheaded in part by a group of Fortune 500 companies (the Coalition to Advance Healthcare Reform) through efforts to control spiraling costs, make costs and quality information transparent, give incentives for healthy behaviors, ensure equal tax benefits for businesses and individuals alike, and assist low-income individuals. Plans include splitting the cost of such implements between employers, the government, and individuals. It’s encouraging to consider a manageable, affordable system; yet, for now, it’s still largely futuristic.