Soapbox No. 4: The Pink Ribbons

This soapbox was part of a longer story I wrote for Seattle Weekly in 2003, Running With Fear: Confessions of a Breast Cancer Poster Child

I hate them. I really do. I don't understand what they are for?support and solidarity, something like that, but I'm not getting that from a little twist of pink metal pretending to be a ribbon.

Instead of pink ribbons, I'd rather have national health insurance or any health insurance plan that insures sick people. The way things are now, if you are young and healthy, you can get health insurance at a reasonable cost. If you are old or, God forbid, sick, forget it.

If you want to support people with cancer, forget the ribbon and lobby for national health care. Or for a state health insurance plan that is open to everyone, rich and poor, sick and well. Olympia is helping to balance the budget by taking health insurance away from 60,000 of the working poor in our state.

Will this save money? Please. All the research has been done: A person without health insurance will wait until she gets really sick and then go to the emergency room at Harborview, which cannot turn her away. Then Harborview will write off the bill, which probably equals one year of health insurance premiums, if not more.

Who makes up the difference when Harborview writes off a bill? You and me, the taxpayers.

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@ Jeanne Sather 2007.