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A Bushwick Millennial Accepts Obama's Apology
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Nov 8, 2013
Modified Nov 8, 2013
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Scott Lynch/Gothamist
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Nov 8, 2013
Modified Nov 8, 2013
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Yesterday, President Obama apologized for a hitch in the Affordable Care Act that's cost some Americans their preferred healthcare plans. But as the GOPers and Obamacare naysayers descend with their pitchforks, this Bushwick millennial would like to take a break from fashioning her artisanal witch broom to humbly accept the President's apology. Obamacare isn't awesome yet, and its flaws extend beyond the fact that the website seems to be designed by the folks behind Smurf Rescue. But eventually it might be, and it's already done legions of poor young folk the favor of allowing them to stay on their parents' healthcare plans until the age of 26. Hell, even Bloomberg says it's kind of cool. FREELANCE CITY, Y'ALL.
But actually, before the federal government extended health care coverage to cover young adults, about 30 percent of people under the age of 26 were uninsured, making them the majority of Americans without health insurance. At Gothamist HQ, a number of staffers say they weren't covered in their early 20s, with some going without insurance until their ripe ol' 30s.
Of course we millennials, with our parental separation anxiety and poor job interview skills, may very well be Obamacare's downfall. Some of us are a little screwed by the plan—if we don't get insurance through our employers or through a government program, we might get stuck paying more for our mandatory Obama insurance than we should, and some savvy kids might opt for paying the fine instead—it's cheaper! [Note: Paying medical bills sans insurance when you break your leg after falling off your fire escape is not cheaper, and it is hard to climb up a ladder while holding a bottle of Trader Joe's wine.]
But as Ezra Klein pointed out in the Washington Post back in August, young people eventually get old and sick and start buying tickets for their favorite bands' nostalgia concerts. And out in the oft self-employed/two part-time-job wilds of Brooklyn, insurance shouldn't be so scarce. PBR does a number on the body, after all, and we're all going to need new livers one day.
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Rebecca Fishbein
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