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I am a new successful small business person (yahoo!!!!), who left a job with government to start my own business. And, business is booming, and I will have no problem paying my taxes, contributing to this communities tax base this year.

However, the biggest challenge that has me waking up--sweating bullets around my budget--is my health care premiums.

I consider myself very, very healthy (I frequently hike 20 miles plus). I do have one of those preexisting conditions that if I manage well, will be a non-issue for most of my life. However, that means, buying health care on the individual market isn't an option so I can continue to get one key drug at a reasonable rate.  To keep healthy, I'm paying $600 a month as a single individual under the COBRA option--plus $50 bucks a month for my drugs. I can do so for the next 17 months, until COBRA runs out.

And that is cheaper that buying it on the open market.

Seventeen months from now, I'm out of luck. Unless there is a change on how we deliver healthcare, I'm going to have to take a desk job: so, a small business person who is actually successful will driven out of work by health care premiums.

Would a free marketier, a heath care industry representative, or someone that opposes the national health care plan explain to me how this makes sense? How, exactly, does the current system sustain the kind of economic growth that places like Oregon need? If a bill doesn't pass, how I am suppose to effectively contribute to the economy, pay my taxes and support the tax base.

posted 3 years, 2 months ago
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