Unless you’ve lived without health insurance, you have no idea how scary it is

Yeah this is my life right now, employer won't offer it, 44 years old can't afford Obamacare either. Have 25 years experience in the industry but unfortunately it seems the older you get the less valuable you are to society in general despite being better at what you do than at any other point in your career.

I got to experience what life was like without health insurance and believe me, it was a horrible experience. It was just after Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey and my place had basically been underwater, about 4 feet of water. I lost a few electronics, but I had tried to save the clothes I had. Unfortunately, there was no power for a few days, so I just threw them in the trunk of my car, a hatchback, damp. Little did I know this would cause a sickness in me that I could not get rid of until the clothes were gone.

Mold was pretty much everywhere. Houses were moldy. Anything that got wet had a nasty ocean smell to it. It was rancid and horrid. My car and I probably smelled horrible. I was living out of my car for about a week or two and when you live paycheck to paycheck, you try to preserve whatever you have. Unfortunately, I forgot to fill my gas tank and it was almost impossible to get gas in the days after the hurricane. I still had to go to work and my boss, who was unaffected, was extremely unforgiving for the day or two I took off. But I had been sleeping out of my car, in cold weather, because I could not even turn it on to warm up, as my gas was low and I needed whatever gas would get me to work.

I had no health insurance and got sick to the point where I was coughing up a lung and could barely breathe. I thought I was going to die. My lungs literally felt like they were collapsing every time I took a breath. Trying to visit the doctor would have cost me about $300 out of pocket. Fortunately, on Saturdays my doctor had started this program where he charged $100 flat-fees for walk-ins. This did not cover the cost of anything that he prescribed.

So on top of that $100, he prescribed me some antibiotics for bronchitis and some other medicine from an inhaler, which would cost me an additional $200. So on top of being low on gas, having no food for several days, no place to live or do laundry, I had to scramble together, even asking my boss for my (lousy) paycheck in advance just so I could afford the medicine I needed. After a day or two, he hesitantly did end up giving me an advance. The medicine barely did anything for me. It wasn't until at least a week later when I finally got to washing my clothes and cleaning out my car that I had learned of the mold hanging out in my car, on my clothes, and causing me to be severely sick.

It was really a devastating time in my life. I now have a pretty good job that offers healthcare, and although I don't agree with Obamacare, and I hate the fact that I have to pay $150 out of every paycheck or face a penalty for something I barely use, I wish there was a better way to make healthcare more affordable. Where is the money going if I don't go to the doctor? I don't ever see it again. So it is a healthcare tax, yet another thing that takes more money out of my paycheck.

I would rather see EVERYTHING we purchase in the United States--the supermarket, the mall, the corner store, fast food, gasoline, luxury items, Amazon, etc.--all raised by at least 10-20 cents. That 10-20 cent tax on every single item that people purchase would create universal healthcare for everyone living in the United States. And it would be EVERYONE CONTRIBUTING towards healthcare, not just a group of people that make X amount a year.