Dear President Obama, the U.S. Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives,

My question to you is about the current health care legislation: how is it going to benefit me and those in similar situations to mine? I am 28 years old. I have dedicated my life to our young people and my community (over nine years of experience already) and will be starting a teaching credential and Masters in Education program this summer. Because I can make more money doing private childcare than working as a teacher’s aide or substitute, that is what I am doing for income this year. I do not have health care because it is not provided through my employer. A year ago, when I was transitioning between public school jobs, I applied for a basic health care plan and also an “only in case of a catastrophe” health care plan from both Kaiser Permanente and Blue Shield of California. I was denied coverage for the basic plan by both companies because of my pre-existing conditions. I come from a family with a history of various emotional disorders and mild to severe digestive dysfunction. I’ve sought medical advice (and sometimes received treatment) for depression, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (what Western medicine calls any digestive condition they can’t diagnose), and scoliosis. Both companies then offered me high premium “catastrophe” plans ($400 each month) which I could never afford.

I am just barely making ends meet with my childcare work, as are many of my friends who are self-employed or employed part-time – the non-traditional work force that does not receive health care from their employers. (They are artists, musicians, music industry people, non-profit workers, journalists, and educators who have been fortunate enough to be able to continue to create their own income, despite the harsh economic climate.) With the individual mandate, the legislation will penalize all of us and make our situations worse than they are now. Our health care now comes mostly from preventative medicine and an occasional trip to the free/low-income clinic when absolutely necessary. (Though it is not unusual to get an email about a medical-fee party to raise money for someone who was in a horrible car accident or for someone who needs a kidney transplant.) We will be required by law to pay high monthly or annual premiums to the for-profit insurance companies that previously denied us health care. This will push us (people who are doing nothing but contributing positively to our communities) into poverty – and we will all be forced to apply for the public option (overloading that system.) Yes, the current bill will help a small number of our community members, but it will make it worse for more of them. The media has completely confused most of my peers (and the general public) with its mixed messages about the health care bill, so they think that it will help them when it will actually harm them. So please explain to me, how will the current health care legislation benefit us?

I would not be writing this letter were it not for Ethel Long-Scott, the Executive Director of the Women’s Economic Agenda Project (WEAP), which is located in my city of Oakland, California. Because of my leadership role in the international grassroots organization Hip Hop Congress and my previous attendance of WEAP’s “Health Care is a Human Right” teach-ins, Ethel invited me to attend the Health Care NOW National Strategy Conference in St. Louis, Missouri and participate on a panel, representing the community I described above. I was one of about 10 to 15 people there who were under the age of 40. (There were about 125 people in attendance overall.) There was a serious lack of racial diversity, especially with the disproportionate impact of our failing health care system on people of color. (Though I do believe there was a wide range of incomes represented in the participants.) While I am not a person of color, many of my friends are. The Hip Hop community bridges all of the divides between race, nationality, social class, education level, and age. It was apparent that my presence and voice at the conference had significant importance. Issues around health care are nothing new to me, but this was the first time I had a platform to speak about my experiences and those of my peers and community. It was a very powerful experience. This is where I gained the knowledge of the truth about the current health care legislation, and it has led me to use my voice once again and ask you: how will this bill really benefit my friends, my community, and me?

In her own panel remarks at the conference, Ethel continually spoke about what our actions and beliefs would be “going forward” from the gathering. She spoke so articulately and passionately that she reminded me of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and received a standing ovation. So I say this to you, going forward, will you please throw away the current legislation, start again, and put the health of the American people over that of the for-profit health care industry? If you do not, then the people will make it happen themselves. While the organizing actions I can initiate and participate in are limited because of my own health conditions, I will do what I can. Ethel and I have already discussed holding Health Care trainings for some of our local and regional Hip Hop Congress chapters. I am looking into holding health care workshops at our regional and national Hip Hop Congress conferences to make the truth be known about the state of our health care system and its contrast to that of other industrial and/or capitalist countries.

As a demonstration of how the for-profit nature of U.S. health care affects all of us, I’d like to start a visual, sticker campaign, similar to that of the gold and silver star campaign during World War II. If someone had a loved one in the war, they would put a silver star in their window, and if they had lost a loved one in the war, they would put a gold star in the window. For health care, it could be if you have been denied health care or received inadequate health care, you put a green sticker in your window. If you have lost a loved one because of denial of health care or inadequate health care, you put a blue one in your window. Mr. President, Senators, and Representatives, are you going to wait to change our health care system until every single U.S. citizen has a sticker hanging in their window? Until every U.S. citizen knows that we have one of the highest infant mortality rates of all developed nations most likely because of our lack of health care for mothers and prenatal care? And even then will you stand up to the corporations and put us first? I really hope you do not wait for the situation to get worse. Please, please, rewrite the bill (and our future that it holds) so that you can truthfully say it will improve life for my community, for my friends, and for me. Do not let this opportunity pass you by to make U.S. history - put the needs of all Americans before the profits of the corporations. Health care is a human right, not a privilege.

Sincerely,

Sarah Harris

Sarah Harris is a board member and representative of Hip Hop Congress, a youth advocate, and a powerful voice in her community. WEAP recently provided Sarah and four other delegates an opportunity to join the Health Care Now Strategy Conference in St. Louis, MO as representatives of their community and organizations.