My name is Stefani
\nand I am a student at CCSF, as well as a bartender\/server at a fast paced
\nrestaurant. I am 25 years old, and I have been living on my own since I was
\nbarely 18. I soon as I graduated high school, I was sent on my way (with a very
\npoor paying job) and continued receiving medical care until I was 19. In the
\nprocess of living on my own, I quickly discovered I knew very little about how
\nmuch medical care actually was after I was no longer covered by my parents
\ninsurance. Not knowing even the first step to being able to set up medical
\ninsurance on my own, and most certainly not being able to afford medical on my
\nown, or how to seek out affordable coverage,
\nI was forced on many occasions to wait out serious illnesses that needed
\nmedical attention until I could save up enough money to visit a doctor. Since
\nthe cost of doctors visits and medicine was so insanely expensive w\/o insurance
\nand on a teenager\u2019s income, I would ignore everything from sinus infections so
\nbad I was coughing up blood to bladder infections so painful I couldn\u2019t stand
\nup straight and made me run high fevers. Going to the doctor literally meant
\nthat I would have to give up necessities such as food and money towards
\nutilities.\u00a0 When I saw a doctor for a
\nbladder infection so bad I was urinating blood, I was not able to pay for
\nutilities later on and because of this my electricity was shut off for two
\ndays. There have been times I felt so lost and unable to do anything to get
\nwell.<\/p>\n
Then,
\n4 years later (at the age of 23), I received amazing news: my parent\u2019s
\ninsurance covered me until I was 26. Upon receiving this information, I
\nscheduled an appointment with a doctor for a physical I was long over due for.
\nBeing on my parents insurance has saved me money I didn\u2019t have when I needed to
\nsee a doctor.<\/p>\n
Now
\nwith free contraception being proposed for women who need it, I feel that a
\nhuge step is being made in the right direction. Unplanned pregnancies not only
\ncan be worrisome for women and their partners, but unplanned pregnancy can be
\ndetrimental to children born to unprepared parents. There is nothing to lose by
\noffering more support to family planning, but so much can be gained. I, too,
\nwill benefit from easier access to contraception as a sexually active woman in
\na long-term, monogamous relationship.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Click here for Stefani O’Driscoll’s story<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My name is Stefani and I am a student at CCSF, as well as a bartender\/server at a fast paced restaurant. I am 25 years old, and I have been living on my own since I was barely 18. I … Continue reading