We see things they’ll never see.
You and I are gonna live forever.

                “Live Forever”, Oasis, 1994

At least, sometimes it feels that way, being 22 without ever having a major medical emergency.

Yet, it’s still important to have health insurance. Never knowing what might happen, it would be disastrous to be injured or get sick without having an insurance plan to cover expenses like hospitalization, surgery, and medication.

Reading the health care policies proposed by John McCain and Barack Obama, one might assume that the issue of health care is mostly not for the young. Obama, for instance, mentions that his plan will allow individuals to keep their current coverage if they like it. However, as a college student currently covered by my parents’ policy, I can’t do that.

So while the issue of health care has mostly not been geared toward the young, and while the biggest issues this cycle have been the economy and the War in Iraq, health care still remains a paramount issue for college students and the newly employed. I spoke with Donna Shalala, president of the University of Miami and Health and Human Services Secretary under President Clinton, about how the health care debate affects the young, and how a good economy leads to good health care for our country: