Thursday, December 10, 2009

Video: Young and Uninsured: Cartoonist Julia Wertz

Posted by Mike Lynch at 9:45 AM

8 comments:

Matt said...

I know Julia can be a pretty polarizing figure in the whole self-published/web-comic scene but it doesn't matter what your opinion of her personally may be, this is a heartbreaking video. It's ridiculous that in this country, health care is not affordable for millions of Americans, whether they're independent artists or workers drawing a steady paycheck. I count myself as very lucky that my wife works full-time and carries some decent benefits which allows me to work part-time, stay home with our sons, and pursue art. A lot of people aren't so lucky. I hope Congress gets off their lazy asses and actually passes some meaningful health care reform in the new year.

4:32 PM
Nelson said...

The people of the country should be entitled to the same health care that the senators and congresspeople get... for payments that equal the same percentage of their income that the politicians pay. That doesn't seem unreasonable.

7:38 PM
John Retallick said...

We have public health care in Australia and whilst it isn't perfect it just boggles my mind to see how the US has let itself down in this regard. Well done to Julia for putting her story our there and to Mike for sharing it too.

If Obama can't push changes through then i think it's about time you need to look long and hard at how your democrarcy works. Health care is a fundamental human right. No one should be denied it due to a lack of funds.

And i highly recommend coming to Melbourne as a good cartooning city if you decide to become health care refugees!

6:06 PM
kbfore said...

Health care is not a right in the US or any other country in this world. The way the left in the US would have the health care designed it would mean that tax payers would be paying for care on drug addicts, illegals and other non tax payers. It looks as though she is getting care regardless of how sad it makes her that she has to pay for it. Once again people want something for nothing.

8:24 AM
Matt said...

With all due respect, kbfore, that is a ridiculous statement and I have to wonder if you even watched the video. Julia isn't asking for free health care, she simply wants quality health care that can affordably help manage her chronic illness. It's amazing that the wealthiest country in the world can't devise a health care system that fosters innovation and cover all citizens (yes, even the drug addicts) without driving everyone into debt while lining the pockets of the insurance and pharmaceutical industries. It's short-sighted to say that health care is a personal issue; in fact, it's very much a social need.

11:57 AM
kbfore said...

These insurance companies that you mention make profits around 6% (but was actually 3.4% this pasT year), http://apnews.myway.com/article/20091025/D9BI4D6O1.html.
Compare that to beverages, 25.9, Exxon 9, Google—which had a 20.6 percent margin—and Microsoft, at 24.9 percent.
http://www.usnews.com/money/blogs/flowchart/2009/08/25/why-health-insurers-make-lousy-villains.html

The statement that you would use your confiscated money to treat a person no matter what their personal behavior shows that we are on different side of this issue no matter how long we debate.

1:38 PM
Matt said...

I don't understand how the rampant billions-of-dollar-per-quarter profit margins of oil companies are supposed to support your argument concerning health care but... whatever. Some people are satisfied with business-as-usual (so long as they benefit) and if you truly consider taxes to be "confiscated money" then I agree that we will not be able to have a constructive debate.

2:58 PM
Ssandra said...

I'm a big fan of Julia's comics, and I have a lot of sympathy for her, but I have to wonder-- if part of the problem is that living in New York is too expensive to qualify for medicare and still make rent, then why does she live in New York? There are plenty of cheaper places to live, and the impression I get from her comics is that she mostly works restaurant jobs, which you can find in most cities, and comics are portable. She has the luxury of being single, childless, and working in a very portable field. Why not move to Massachusetts, which has subsidized health insurance and a lower cost of living?

1:39 AM

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