The pandemic arrived on the heels of political campaigns that put health care front and center. I can't stop thinking about it. I also can't stop thinking about all the people who have lost health care because they lost their jobs, because our system relies heavily on employers

providing and subsidizing care. I'm thinking about the way our health care workers have been pushed to the brink to care for us during this time, how stressed the entire system is, and how many of us sit at home with our minor health woes to make space for the very ill.

I also think back to 2011, when I was 33, didn't smoke, and exercised 5 days a week. I left a job that was wrecking me physically and emotionally and I lost my health care because of it. When I applied for insurance on my own, I was denied. The reason why?

Because in the prior six months to my application, I'd seen a mental health care provider to help me manage stress, depression, anxiety, and despair caused by the job that was *wait for the irony* affording me access to that care.

So as a "healthy" young man, I was considered high risk for primary medical care because I had *checks notes* sought treatment for emotional distress.

...

This memory floats up whenever politicians say "Americans love their health care."

We might love our doctors. We might love our nurses.

But no one loves our health care system, and no one loves dealing with their insurance companies. They are not caregivers. They are businesses, and we are their profit.