Mike has become eligible at his job for health insurance. This is a wonderful thing! So now that we have some stability we are reviewing our options for health insurance. Mike wants to compare his company's plans/rates with independent/individual rates/plans for the 3 of us (Levi, Mike, Me. The big girls are covered by their other parent's insurance thankfully!).
In researching health insurance/dental insurance for the three of us I learned a lot about healthcare. To start, it is flippin expensive! Yes, I know you are shocked to hear this. I realize that the whole nation has been debating this issue for the last forever and that I am VERY late to the party on this one but wow! It is no surprise that most people choose not to have health insurance. The second thing I was shocked by, truly shocked by, is that most plans do not cover any maternity costs. None. When in the heck did that become acceptable?! Now if you want to have kids you have to pay for special maternity coverage on top of what you already pay for medical/dental/vision insurance. Seriously? When did motherhood become some sort of abnormal/out of the norm medical endeavor which only those who are willing to pay for it can afford to do?
There is the idea that women don't HAVE to have children anymore, that our roles do not have to be defined by the status of our uterus, etc. I get that. I am all aboard the feminist train, for real. But the most important part of feminism is giving women equal choices and equal access. Making women pay extra for maternity insurance doesn't feel like an equal choice or equal access. It feels like once again impoverished women and women that aren't white are being punished for wanting to be mothers. And the other side of it is that perhaps those women that choose to NOT have children are tired of paying insurance for something they will never use. I get that. I do. But it's insurance, it pays for a lot of things that you don't intend to ever use, such as cancer, heart attacks, etc. No one wants to have cancer, no one wants to have a heart attack. But you pay for the insurance so that if it DOES happen to you then you have coverage. I guess the new fad in health insurance is "a la carte" polices. Just mix and match what you want covered and we'll give you a price. I'll have some maternity coverage and some dental insurance please. Ugh!
Let's just break down the implication of this change in health insurance coverage. Basically Americans are being discouraged from having kids. That's how it jumps out at me at least. Why else would you remove maternity coverage from the normal health insurance plan. And what does it mean if we are discouraging Americans from having kids? How does that affect the national economy I wonder. If we have less Americans being born because people can't afford to have children then we have less Americans in our work force (I am playing devil's advocate here, following this train of thought). If we have less Americans in our workforce then we leave the door open for non Americans to take our jobs. And isn't that what the entire Right wing has been pitching a fit about?
Now another aspect of cutting maternity coverage from normal health insurance is that more women will be like me. I am in a middle class household, I own my home, I own my cars, I pay taxes, etc. But I can't afford to pay for the extra insurance for maternity coverage and I want to have another baby. So I am going to go to the Public Health Department and I am going to get Medicaid/Medicare and have all my maternity expenses paid for by the government and I am going to have my baby's expenses paid for by the government too. And now I am a welfare Mom. But wait, I'm not a welfare Mom, I am a middle class woman. Do you see the conundrum? And again, now I am the problem that the Right wing complains about all the time.
It's like we are shooting ourselves in the foot at every turn. And why are we doing that?
I welcome any corrections or insights from more knowledgeable persons. I am really interested to learn more about this issue.
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