| Drops Out Of College |
21-year-old college student, with heart condition, drops out of school because she could not afford tuition at the expense of her heart medication--since she had lost her health insurance.
In her own words, below is her story.
Dear general public:
By Autumn
August 30, 2009
My name is Autumn, and I am 21 years old. I decided to tell my story because I believe it is wrong that so many people exist in this country without quality health care or affordable health insurance. I strongly believe it is an incredibly serious problem and something substantial should be done about it.
At first, I wanted to write to the governor of the state where I reside, Pennsylvania, to impress upon him the grave health care circumstances that so many Americans like myself are facing, but, first, I decided to share this part of my story with others who are experiencing similar difficulties.
I was a marketing major approaching my junior year in college and looking forward to the possibilities of what a college education could afford me. I wanted to help my mother, who is a single mom and struggles to care for my three siblings (ages 8 to 16). I was working at two jobs while in school, which made my college experience tough, but, hard work is a fact of life for my family, as well as so many others.
I received a bill for $7,000 in my last semester at school. To say the least, it was a shock. My financial aid had been reduced significantly, as were many other students who attended college via financial aid. I learned that drastic changes to tuition assistance were made in the last term of the former Bush administration.
In addition to my tuition cut, I lost my health coverage under my mother's health insurance upon turning 21. Not having the ability to pay my tuition so as to continue on in school, my mother's deteriorating health, as well as being without health coverage to pay for my own heart medications, I dropped out of college; and I could only secure a job at minimum wage. To add bad news to more bad news, I was informed that at $7.25 per hour, the minimum wage, working 25 hours per week disqualifies me for the state's medical assistance. Saying that hope had been driven out of my life would be putting it mildly but that's exactly how I currently feel. The worry I now live with is more debilitating than it has ever been before. I worry about my mother. I worry about my siblings. I worry that I will never achieve my dreams. I am a walking matter of worry.
I have never been particularly political, so I don't choose to address the lack of quality health care that so many like myself face today as a political issue. I believe it is a moral and just issue. I believe it is a moral and just statement that I make when stating, America should be judged by how she treats the less fortunate in her care. I believe this country can do a lot better than allowing 46 to 47 million people lack of quality health care. I believe we lose our moral standing to judge other countries' depraved indifference to their people when we disenfranchise our own people's health.
When I and others, who are the young and future of this country, cannot reach our full potential or be as productive as we wish to be, the word, "United," in the United States of America, is missing a key ingredient. It is missing the part where the few and powerful positively affect the lives of the many and less fortunate.
Thank you for your time.
My name is Autumn, and I welcome your comments at my email address: Write to Autumn.
Sincerely~
Autum
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