Reform, What Have You Done For Me Lately?

So, the Health Care Reform bill. It's exciting.  It's historic and groundbreaking. It's a disappointment. It's not pro-choice. It's not everything that was promised or hoped for.  I've read interesting and cogent critiques from all sides today and I'm sure you have too.

One exciting development for my demographic is the extension of health care coverage under a guardian's plan until the age of 26, easing the transition from school to gainful employment. Obviously, not even everyone falling into this age bracket benefits--one has to have a parent/guardian with health care coverage, and said parent/guardian must be willing to include their offspring under their plan. But it's a huge step. And that's how I feel about the bill as a whole.


I have waited ten hours to see a doctor in a clinic just to be told that she could not give me a blood test in good conscience because she couldn't be sure how much it would cost. I've elected to not visit a hospital after sustaining concussion. I've seen more than one friend opt for Super Glue instead of stitches after a nasty fall. More than one of my friends has accumulated the same amount of debt I did over all four years of my college education because of a bike tire meeting a pothole after one miscalculated pedal stroke. More than one of us would have had a different experience if this bill had been passed. And that is something.

The student loan bill that's to pass along with HCR is less exciting to me. The bill raises the amount of money provided by Federal Pell Grants. The maximum amount provided by the Pell grant is set to go up to $5,975 by 2017. It's currently at $5,350. The $625 increase seems like a paltry sum compared to the overall cost of education, especially over a period of six years. In fact, taking tuition increases into consideration, those applying for financial aid in 2017 will probably be no better off than those applying today.

At least it'll be easier to pay off the loans without an additional 40K of debt from medical bills.