Insurer's policy: "drop dead!".

For two years after I graduated college, my parents freaked out because I didn't have health insurance. I, myself, was not too stressed about the situation, as I was 21 and invincible. But Mom and Dad seemed to disagree.

I was a full-time volunteer, and the group insurance provider offered through the volunteer program had rejected me for coverage, for reasons it would not disclose. Basically, according to some kind of formula, they predicted I would be a not-for-profit venture. So it became a ridiculous fiasco, trying to get back on my parents' insurance plan, submitting forms, faxing documents, finding records from doctors' visits from several years before, waiting on hold, and explaining myself over and over again. By the time we were close to sorting it out, the volunteer stint was over.

Then I took a couple months to gallop across the country, camping and backpacking the national parks of the American West, and shortly thereafter I crossed the Atlantic to give Europe a try. My parents fretted at home and prayed I wouldn't fall off a cliff or get attacked by a wild boar. (That really happens, you know.)

Luckily, I made it through those years with little incident, medically speaking. But that really was just luck. Of the 44 million Americans who currently don't have health insurance, many are young adults like me, fresh out of college or high school, looking for a job or working at a job that doesn't provide benefits.

In this election year, health care is everywhere. Everybody's talking about reform--of Medicare, Medicaid, prescription drug benefits, children's health insurance, requirements of the employer, single-payer systems, universal health plans, and limits on lawsuits for medical malpractice. It's a high priority on every candidate's agenda.

Why? Because it hits home, and because we've all known a family or an individual who's been financially wiped out by medical bills, and we all know that one trip to the doctor's office could change our lives forever, both physically and financially.

In "With liberty and health care for all" (pages 12-18), Kevin Clarke examines the state of health care in America and how it falls short of meeting basic needs. He explores the possible alternatives to our current system and asks what our responsibilities as Catholics might be to play a role in ensuring that everyone who needs medical care receives it.

And for your spiritual well-being, check out the second installment of our Lenten special, "40 days to a new you" (pages 26-31). It includes 20 more reflections on Lent from spiritual masters like Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, Thomas Merton, Therese of Lisieux, and Madeleine L'Engle.