I am a 25-year-old female who fortunately has until now been in good health. I have never been hospitalized or gravely ill and very rarely visit the doctor for non-preventive care. While I of course hope and expect my health to remain as it is, as a self-employed person and what I would deem generous tax-payer, I have applied for health insurance numerous times only to be rejected.

Today I received a letter again. The reasons they state for rejecting me are migraines, anxiety, and discussion of significant alcohol use with my doctor. My anxiety really has only been bad more than eight years ago when I suffered from panic attacks and has since been almost non-existent and highly managed by a low dose of generic SSRIs. My migraines are a burden but also a common experience that afflict a large majority of the population and women and also something that I manage. And I think the most demoralizing reason is the third. I mentioned to my doctor that I wanted to cut down on the amount that I drank socially and because of my proactive interest in my own health I am now being penalized in my search for coverage.

I apply for high deductible insurance because for me health insurance is just that- a hedge against a catastrophic event. I am willing to pay the money for insurance and I am a healthy young person. The continual rejection is not only outrageous to me but also extremely demoralizing. If a wealthy, well educated, and healthy person with resources who can afford in the meantime her basic health care is being presented with numerous road blocks on a quest for health insurance, I cannot imagine the difficulties that someone without all these advantages faces. And while I have yet to exhaust all my options in my search, I am so disappointed in this system that I am almost at a loss as to how to remedy it.