photo: ProgressOhio/ BY-NC-SA

By Erin Bilir

Growing up with two doctors as parents always made me a little different from other kids. My parents are gastroenterologists, so while my friends had “tummy aches” I had “lower intestinal discomfort.” When I turned ten I became utterly convinced that I wanted to be an orthodontist when I grew up. My teacher jokingly asked me why I wanted to put my hands in other people’s mouths all day. To which I unblinkingly replied, “You should see where my parents put their hands all day.” Now a sixteen-year-old high school student, living with two physicians also means living with the current healthcare debate.

As debate sets all of Washington ablaze, impassioned discussion also takes place at my dinner table. “The key” my dad tells me “lies in prevention.” Gesturing passionately with his fork, my father says that government should provide healthcare services that protect people from future ailments such as mammograms for women over forty and colonoscopies for individuals over fifty. “You don’t want people to go to the emergency room just because they have a simple headache,” he tells me, “but getting colon cancer because you couldn’t meet your insurance deductible in time to get a colonoscopy is costlier for the individual and their insurance company than it would be to just have regular screenings-not to mention the emotional and psychological toll.”

It seems that free, government sponsored preventative healthcare is one of the few things my parents, now divorced, actually agree on. The way my mom sees it, obesity is one of the primary health concerns in the United States. So, my mom believes that payment for preventative services should come partially from taxes on goods containing high fructose corn syrup and other artificial preservatives. She also thinks that there should be federal warning labels on unhealthy foods detailing the risks of consumption such as coronary artery disease.

Talking to my parents made me wonder, where do I fit in the debate? After all, I’m young and I’m healthy. So where is it that young people like me, find personal stake in the issues being discussed around healthcare? The way the healthcare system is set up now, I’m considered a member of “the young invincibles.” Basically, that means the youth of America are the largest risk takers with their health, overworking themselves, going without insurance, all because they believe that they are young and their bodies are indestructible. It’s this notion, simple as it is which gives me pause.

It seems that up until this moment, everyone has believed that the youth of America are invincible. And now that it has become harder for young citizens to find jobs which will provide them with decent health benefits, it is all the more important that this blind faith in the durability of our youth come to an end. Judging from the latest bills addressing healthcare reform, I’m happy to see legislators have begun to recognize the need for basic coverage for all and not just the old or the ailing.
It’s about time. The future men and women of America will not be healthy tomorrow unless we begin protecting them today. Take it from the daughter of two doctors; we won’t be young and invincible forever.