Dittoheads and Fox News watchers are understandably wary of any public healthcare option, given the misinformation shoved down their throats on a daily basis. (President Obama tries to dispel some of the myths here.) Part of people’s fear, as explained by The New Yorker‘s James Surowiecki in the latest issue, can be explained by our innate tendency to assign an irrationally high value to something already in our possession—like our often crappy and expensive health insurance plans. But people really need to reflect on this stuff and not let fear and misinformation win out. Consider: What if you have a health problem that’s covered through your employer, but you want to switch jobs? Will your new employer’s insurance plan accept you? What if you’re a freelance or contract worker? Or part-time? Or full-time without bennies? Or you got laid off? That’s a lot of what-ifs, especially in the current economy. The bottom line, for anyone with a preexisting condition who isn’t insured, is that you’re pretty well screwed. Today, Boingboing.net, where you’ll always learn something interesting, featured the personal Youtube video below. I think this guy sums up the whole issue pretty articulately—even if the majority of those (nearly) 50 million uninsured don’t yet have a preexisting condition. Well, at least that they know of.
