To be honest, I don’t like politics. Never have, probably never will.

But I do like health insurance. And I happen to know that private health insurance sucks. I sat here trying to think of a better, less crude word, but there you have it. It sucks.

I’ve long understood the necessity of health insurance, but I really began to understand how broken our system is when we had to apply for private health insurance last year. The premiums are outrageous, the coverage scant, and we all had issues with pre-existing conditions – even Camille, who at the time had only “existed” for 2 years!

So right now we’re paying an awful lot of money for assistance that will only really kick in if one of us has a serious illness or injury, and we’re spending a lot out-of-pocket on doctor’s visits and prescriptions. But I consider us lucky, because at least we can pay for it, even if it’s a struggle. There should be a better option for us, and there should certainly be a better option for people who can’t afford the insurance premiums from their employer or haven’t been offered coverage at all.

That’s why I was so interested in health reform in the last presidential election, and quite frankly, it seemed like so many others across the nation were interested in health reform too. But now that it’s time to make actual change happen, I feel like the naysayers are drowning the rest of us out. I listen to news reports and I mutter under my breath about what the opposition is saying, but that’s about it.

So I’m resolved to do a couple of things. I’m going to spend some more time learning about the proposed reforms (did some reading on http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/ tonight), and I’m going to contact my local congressman to let him know there are still those of us out there who are unhappy with the current system and want real change. Gotta start somewhere, right?