{"id":4692,"date":"2017-01-19T11:45:18","date_gmt":"2017-01-19T18:45:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/?p=4692"},"modified":"2017-01-19T15:30:48","modified_gmt":"2017-01-19T22:30:48","slug":"back-to-work-for-affordable-healthcare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/2017\/01\/back-to-work-for-affordable-healthcare\/","title":{"rendered":"Back to Work For Affordable Healthcare"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

It\u2019s kind of a fog, but from what I recall, we had\u00a0a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old. 2 kids in diapers. 2 kids who needed naps at different times of the day, and who needed to eat every 2 hours or so. 2 car seats with complicated buckles to fumble\u00a0in the triple-digit heat.\u00a0The older one was a chronic thumb-sucker, and\u00a0in part-time day care. So we were all sick, all the time. We\u2019d pass it around, and by the time the last one of us was better, a new and exciting germ funk would be making the rounds. There wasn\u2019t a lot of sleep.<\/p>\n

I was the solo pastor of a smallish but growing church in the Phoenix metro area. My husband managed a busy hotel. And here\u2019s the thing about hotels and churches\u2013they don\u2019t keep to what you\u2019d call \u201cnormal\u201d hours, or a schedule of any kind. In his world, some\u00a0days are heavy with check-ins, and others,\u00a0check-outs. (The same might be said about church life, make of the metaphors what you will). There are always special events and occasions; both churches and hotels keep to their own interesting sort of calendar, which does not always jive with the real world. Both involve middle of the night phone calls, unpredictable days, and constant demands on your attention and emotional energy\u2013even when you are not physically present, or on-the-clock, as such.<\/p>\n

In other words, we had 4 kids. Basically. 2 babies+1 hotel+ 1 church = 4 living organisms that always needed something<\/em>. Some people raise 4 kids and do just fine. But it really was not for us. And we couldn\u2019t do it any more.<\/p>\n

And so it happened that, 5 years ago (almost to the day) my 6-foot-7 rockstar superdad spouse left his job to stay home with the babies. Our salaries were comparable; I loved my job and he did not, so it was a no-brainer when it came down to who was going to do what.<\/p>\n

We did what\u00a0made the most sense for our family at the time. As hard as it\u2019s been at times, it continued to make sense for a long time.<\/p>\n

Now those kids are bigger. Nobody\u2019s in diapers; nobody sucks their thumb; they\u00a0feed and dress themselves, communicate with words, do household chores, and, thanks be to God, can operate the remote control. Most importantly, they are both in big kid school, which means the days of paying for expensive childcare\/preschool are over. (Even though we do, for awhile longer, have to pay for Kindergarten\u2013thanks, Kansas). All of which is to say that, yesterday, after 5 years of doing this whole Papa Bear gig like a boss, my man went back to work.<\/p>\n

Because\u00a0it was just time.<\/p>\n

It was time for him to have a career and a network and personal goals again. It was time, baby Jesus, for TWO PAYCHECKS. But mostly, you know what put us over the edge? Healthcare.<\/p>\n

\"briefcase-1578138_640\"<\/p>\n

Up until 2017, my denomination had group insurance for clergy and other full-time employees. Trouble is, it was expensive, and not great coverage. So few churches were able to afford it,\u00a0the plan finally just folded. Increasingly, clergy have to be bi-vocational if they want healthcare, or else rely on their spouse\u2019s employer. At the beginning of this calendar year, I signed my family up for coverage through the Affordable Care Act, because that was literally our only option. Like the plan previously offered through my church, it was very expensive and not great coverage. But it was there.<\/p>\n

Promptly after I made my first payment, the GOP majority<\/a> vowed that they were going to take away even this option. There will be something else they say, something better. But details about that \u201celse\u201d and \u201cbetter\u201d have not been forthcoming. I am not optimistic.<\/p>\n

My husband\u2019s new job gives us far better coverage at a fraction of the cost, so like the initial decision for him to stay home, the decision for him to go back was equally obvious. Even if he wasn\u2019t making a decent salary, the secure benefits alone would be worth him going back to work.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s fine, because like I say, it was time\u2013for many reasons. But truly, folks\u2026 it should not be this way. We should not live in a world where our move, every important decision, is dictated by the question of whether or not we can go to the doctor if we get sick. It should not be this hard.<\/p>\n

My concerns about marketplace coverage aside\u2013namely, that it is neither affordable nor comprehensive\u2013for many families, it is the only option. Or a far better option than the alternatives. While imperfect, this controversial bit of legislation went a long way toward making care available for those who would otherwise have few choices. And any increase in cost, year over year, should be blamed on the carriers\u2013not on the legislation itself. When the expectation is that top executives in the healthcare industry should gross millions\u2013even billions\u2013a year in personal gain, then of course costs are going to rise. As long as no regulations are placed on those increases, they are going to continue to rise, astronomically, every year.<\/p>\n

Government obstruction has kept this program from thriving. The goal of the ACA was that each state would create its own competitive healthcare market. The clear benefit would be to the consumer. However, many states chose not to participate, because they wanted to prove the plan could not work. (Kansas, I\u2019m looking at you again). As a result, more and more carriers have chosen to pull out of certain states altogether. So in some places (ahem, Kansas) there are literally no choices\u2013one carrier alone left in the marketplace, and it can charge the consumer as much as it wants, because there are no checks and balances; and no competition.<\/p>\n

The expense is\u00a0grotesque. But still, the legislation behind the ACA offers security to many people who would otherwise not be able to get care\u00a0at all.\u00a0<\/em>I know many of these folks. You do too. They are people living with serious and\/or chronic illness; without the pre-existing condition protections of the ACA, millions of Americans will be deemed \u201cun-insurable\u201d and have no access to care. Students who are currently covered under their parents will have to drop out of school and get full-time (probably low-paying) jobs. Women will have to fight even harder to access basic care and birth control. And of course, repeal of the Affordable Care Act means that\u00a0we go back to the days when women are charged twice as much as men for basic services.<\/p>\n

The ultimate and cruelest irony is that the folks behind \u201cRepeal and replace\u201d call themselves pro-life. Abortion rates are at an all-time low since Obamacare. And yet, all we hear is talk of how evil this legislation has been. It doesn\u2019t add up. Or rather, it only adds up to more evidence that the desire to repeal this law is not in the interest of the people, but rather, a political vendetta. (Note: if you are one of those funny YouTube people who don\u2019t realize that Obamacare and the Affordable Care Act are the same thing, read up<\/a> and come back later. Thx).<\/p>\n

As I continue to remind my representatives\u2013and as I hope you will too\u2013\u2018repeal and replace\u2019 doesn\u2019t work without an actual replacement plan. And nobody seems to have one. This is just one more attempt to obstruct and undermine the legacy of the outgoing President, and leave a blank slate for the incoming administration to further their own financial and political interests. All in the name of freedom.<\/p>\n

What I know is this\u2013freedom means choices.<\/p>\n

The American dream is all about choices\u2013the choice to stay in school and keep learning; the choice to quit a dead-end job and start your own business; the choice to work at a church or non-profit or some area of public service; the choice to quit work and be at home with the kids, if that\u2019s what works for you; to be an artist, a musician, a writer, or even a farmer. These folks make democracy go round, but our legislators propose\u00a0a reality in which any\u00a0of these choices would\u00a0come with a loss of the most basic necessities.<\/p>\n

Getting sick should not be a death sentence; bankruptcy should not be the expected side effect of an illness. And a chronic condition should not mean a life-sentence in whatever job or relationship you might be in at the moment.\u00a0If we want to protect our freedom to make those decisions based on what\u2019s best for our families at any given time, then it\u2019s time to get back to work.<\/p>\n

If you think the Government should not be able to take away care without offering a significantly better alternative, then get to work. Call and tell your representatives.\u00a0Tell them that your American dream is to\u00a0live with the spirit of industry and innovation on which our country was founded\u2026 That we should be able to start families, start\u00a0companies, pursue education, and dream beyond the punching of the timeclock and still\u2013somehow\u2013be able to see a doctor when we are sick. If they don\u2019t agree with you, they should probably find another gig. Or another country.<\/p>\n

I hear Russia is nice this time of year.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s kind of a fog, but from what I recall, we had\u00a0a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old. 2 kids in diapers. 2 kids who needed naps at different times of the day, and who needed to eat every 2 hours or so. 2 car seats with complicated buckles to fumble\u00a0in the triple-digit heat.\u00a0The older one was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1154,"featured_media":4693,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65,1],"tags":[1378,771,627,953,1377,9],"class_list":["post-4692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-being-a-person","category-uncategorized","tag-affordable-care-act","tag-faith-and-politics","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-obamacare","tag-progressive-christianity"],"yoast_head":"\nAffordable Healthcare<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After years as a stay-home dad, my husband went back to work so that we could have good healthcare. Should this really determine our biggest decisions?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/2017\/01\/back-to-work-for-affordable-healthcare\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Affordable Healthcare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After years as a stay-home dad, my husband went back to work so that we could have good healthcare. Should this really determine our biggest decisions?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/2017\/01\/back-to-work-for-affordable-healthcare\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Irreverin\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-01-19T18:45:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-01-19T22:30:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/333\/2017\/01\/briefcase-1578138_640.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"426\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Erin Wathen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Erin Wathen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/2017\/01\/back-to-work-for-affordable-healthcare\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/2017\/01\/back-to-work-for-affordable-healthcare\/\",\"name\":\"Affordable Healthcare\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-01-19T18:45:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-01-19T22:30:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/#\/schema\/person\/d952aeacf2fb5d80629d6718167a6013\"},\"description\":\"After years as a stay-home dad, my husband went back to work so that we could have good healthcare. Should this really determine our biggest decisions?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/2017\/01\/back-to-work-for-affordable-healthcare\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/2017\/01\/back-to-work-for-affordable-healthcare\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/2017\/01\/back-to-work-for-affordable-healthcare\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Back to Work For Affordable Healthcare\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/\",\"name\":\"Irreverin\",\"description\":\"Seeking the sacred in family, culture, politics, and sometimes, even ministry.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/#\/schema\/person\/d952aeacf2fb5d80629d6718167a6013\",\"name\":\"Erin Wathen\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b74f7ca70483103d7b13738306adccf4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b74f7ca70483103d7b13738306adccf4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Erin Wathen\"},\"description\":\"Rev. Erin Wathen is a published author, a Certified Nonprofit Professional, and an ordained pastor in the Christian Church, (Disciples of Christ). She lives in Louisville with her husband and two children.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/author\/erinwathen\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Affordable Healthcare","description":"After years as a stay-home dad, my husband went back to work so that we could have good healthcare. Should this really determine our biggest decisions?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/2017\/01\/back-to-work-for-affordable-healthcare\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Affordable Healthcare","og_description":"After years as a stay-home dad, my husband went back to work so that we could have good healthcare. Should this really determine our biggest decisions?","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/2017\/01\/back-to-work-for-affordable-healthcare\/","og_site_name":"Irreverin","article_published_time":"2017-01-19T18:45:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-01-19T22:30:48+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":426,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/333\/2017\/01\/briefcase-1578138_640.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Erin Wathen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Erin Wathen","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/2017\/01\/back-to-work-for-affordable-healthcare\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/2017\/01\/back-to-work-for-affordable-healthcare\/","name":"Affordable Healthcare","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-01-19T18:45:18+00:00","dateModified":"2017-01-19T22:30:48+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/#\/schema\/person\/d952aeacf2fb5d80629d6718167a6013"},"description":"After years as a stay-home dad, my husband went back to work so that we could have good healthcare. Should this really determine our biggest decisions?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/2017\/01\/back-to-work-for-affordable-healthcare\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/2017\/01\/back-to-work-for-affordable-healthcare\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/2017\/01\/back-to-work-for-affordable-healthcare\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Back to Work For Affordable Healthcare"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/","name":"Irreverin","description":"Seeking the sacred in family, culture, politics, and sometimes, even ministry.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/#\/schema\/person\/d952aeacf2fb5d80629d6718167a6013","name":"Erin Wathen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b74f7ca70483103d7b13738306adccf4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b74f7ca70483103d7b13738306adccf4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Erin Wathen"},"description":"Rev. Erin Wathen is a published author, a Certified Nonprofit Professional, and an ordained pastor in the Christian Church, (Disciples of Christ). She lives in Louisville with her husband and two children.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/author\/erinwathen\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1154"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4692\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}