Re: I Need You to See This

[neversremedy8]

To Our Dear First Lady,

Thank you for the reminder about the ACA. Its arrival is timely. While our family already has a mix of coverage, I spoke yesterday with the woman we've hired to help pick up around our house every other week (a service much needed since I'm disabled and have a new baby to care for). During our discussion, she said she had visited the Washington State exchange, but the best option she could find for her family of four was over $400 per month. Though a large number of people are now able to access insurance or care they could not previously (myself included), not everyone can afford the exchange as it currently stands.

Between her pay cleaning houses and her husband's blue collar job, they still must be extra careful with their money. After rent, food, utilities, and other necessities, they simply don't have the extra.

She shrugged her shoulder and said, "Uh. I'll probably pay the penalty." She later added, "If it were under two hundred, we could do it. For now, we pay for check ups out of pocket."

I'm worried for her, and many like her. I've been impoverished to the point where I was nearly homeless while the sole provider for my first child. Though I'm now living in better circumstances, I can't be on my partner's work insurance, so I receive Medicaid from the state. And providers -- doctors and clinics -- in my area have dropped their Medicaid patients in droves, leaving me with few options within a reasonable distance from my home.

While I'm not among those who blames every ill on your husband, and certainly don't see the current state of the ACA as his fault, we need better language and legislation. We need universal health care. And if you'll permit me a seeming tangent, we need better food care, too.

It may not seem like it on the surface to most, but since you grow your own vegetables, I'm sure you know how vital access to good food is in relation to the health of individuals, families, and communities. Despite this, there are many cities in our great nation that ban people from growing their own produce; citizens have been jailed, their property ruined, and their access to good food destroyed.

Our nation is filled with food deserts where large communities cannot access good food to meet their nutritional needs. Our small farmers, too, are under attack by large agricultural corporations.

If ever there were a cause for a First Lady to champion, encouraging the return of victory gardens in every yard, projects to provide community gardens to impoverished areas, and food forests in city parks is one of the greatest causes a great woman such as yourself could champion.

I'm aware you've been a voice for eating well, but eating a balanced diet is becoming a luxury in this country. Now, at the end of your husband's second term, and for years beyond, you are and can continue to be, an inspiration for changing the way America feeds its communities.

Thank you for your time and good works.

Be well,

Raven J. Demers

www.satyrsgarden.com