When it comes to health care, Johnson lacks spark
Ilike Gary Johnson. If I had to choose which of New Mexico’s 2018 candidates for U.S. Senate I’d most like to spend a day with, I’d go with Johnson, hands down. We could spend the day taking runs at Ski Santa Fe, enjoy conversation over dinner back in town, and share a joint. I can’t imagine doing that with Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M (or, God forbid, Republican Mick Rich). As for my vote for U.S. Senate, as much as I’d like a change from our two-party system, my choice can’t be Johnson. Here’s why.
In 2008, I was proud to cast my vote for Barack Obama. It seemed like the beginning of a change our country had needed for a long time.
But by 2012, I was considering voting for Johnson for president. Throughout 2011, I’d been receiving treatment for Stage 3 breast cancer, and using cannabis for nausea and appetite. I got involved with cannabis activism, and it horrified me that the former president of the “Choom Gang,” current president of the U.S., seemed unconcerned that people were still going to jail for cannabis, with people of color comprising a disproportionate number of those arrests. Maybe we needed a change. I just needed to understand the rest of Johnson’s platform before casting my vote.
I’d spent much of 2011 bedridden due to my health. I was thrilled to learn I could participate remotely in a Gary Johnson Town Hall. Participants submitted questions online, which other participants could up-vote or down-vote to determine who’d get to talk with Johnson. Having read through Johnson’s campaign website, I didn’t see anything about health care, and considering my situation, this is what I wanted to know about. Apparently, a lot of other participants in the town hall agreed, as they up-voted my question to the top of the queue:
“I’m 38 years old and in treatment for cancer. I’m unable to work. My insurance has paid nearly $2 million for my care. If you were president, how would you approach health insurance for Americans?”
Johnson expressed sympathy for my health problems and asked about remission. But he didn’t offer the answer I needed. He said the cost of medical care would go down in a free market, and once it stabilized, “anyone” would be able to afford cancer treatment. Plus, I should have been saving money for an emergency like this ($2 million savings by my mid-30s? My savings didn’t even cover the $40,000plus in copays I owed).
Then, perhaps sensing that his answer wasn’t practical, Johnson passed the microphone to his sidekick, whose name I’ve long since forgotten. The sidekick’s advice? “Your community and your church would help.” That’s where they totally lost me. I live in poor, rural New Mexico, but location notwithstanding, I can’t imagine any church holding enough bake sales to raise $2 million for each congregant diagnosed with cancer. Johnson wished me well and moved on to the next caller. I think we both knew that he’d lost my vote.
Fast forward to 2018. If elected senator, Johnson would represent people like me in many ways. Perhaps he’d even push for clemency for people serving life sentences for cannabis “crimes,” a move that’s far past due. But what he won’t do is fight for universal health care — or even affordable health care. I can already get medical cannabis in New Mexico. But I can’t make a black market deal for chemotherapy or surgery, and I still haven’t been able to save millions in case of recurrence. I hope someday Gary Johnson and I can smoke a joint together and continue our conversation about that.