Young And Uninsured: Cartoonist Julia Wertz | TIME

[@AristarcoPalacios]

I am so in love with Julia and her artwork...

[@looshkin66]

I love the fact that Ms. Julia used to live in portland!!!!!!!!!

[@4HundredTheCat]

Yes, Julia! Please move to Canada! We love you here!

[@SHSCurtisa]

This is such a common story for people who free lance for a living. While Julia identifies as a cartoonist we don't really know how she pays her bills and NYC undoubtably has the best opportunity for those types of jobs. Good for her for making her dream come true. I also can't believe the comments that she should intentionally lower her income to meet Medicaid standards. Isn't this supposed to be the land of opportunity? What opportunity is that?

[@jahha3473]

I am a new fan, I will definitely support her work. I love the simplicity of her style very cool and I like the the down to Earth realistic approach to everyday life...

[@jonathondalton]

New York has the unique ability to provide numerous work opportunities in illustration and is exactly where she should be living. Moving might entail a pay cut, not just a cut in rent. Good on her for managing to make as much money as she does. $400 a month for health care is a ridiculous amount to have to pay. No other country in the world has such a high minimum payment to get access to health care- even when you include costs paid through taxes.

[@domericci]

I hope everything works out for Julia. As a fan of hers I'd hate to see someone I admire so much be put through this ridiculousness.

[@MrThedarkfox]

A quick hop on a cost of living calculator tells me some numbers about Raleigh, Durham which I don't think qualifies as 'the boons'. Your rent should decrease 45%, and your income could drop 36% of current levels, putting you at just about the $9k for medicaid. I'm not a manager, not a hick, and never said health care wasn't broken. But I know how to manage my money, prioritize expenses, and separate wants from needs. Represented.

[@hardyhardy6939]

Hey julia, you are rhe best... riding into the strorm hab dich nie vergessen

[@lasalleman]

Love her stuff!

[@MrThedarkfox]

Again, simple. Its called having savings for unexpected run ins with fate instead of spending your cash by the end of the month. You can't fully plan for it, but you can take steps to reduce what it'll do to you. Medical bills are also some of the most lenient, flexible, and negotiable. In this case, its extra idiotic. She has a chronic disease and didn't want to budget around insurance. That is something you can plan on, a chronic disease flaring back up.

[@MrThedarkfox]

I believe medicaid covers your regardless. The complaint was to qualify for that, you needed to make $900/mo or less, and that is what she pays for rent (actually, kudos to her for finding something in NYC for $900/mo). There is a solution to this problem, move somewhere where rent is less than $900/mo. She can then qualify for medicaid and be covered.

[@MrThedarkfox]

See comment about getting job with insurance. And yes, her pay might go down. But, she said she makes about $1200. Rent is $900. The gives $300 of after rent money, which means she'd need to make an extra $100 a month to afford rent+insurance. Lets say she moves somewhere that rent drops by half, and her income does the same. She now gets medicaid. So while she lost $600 in income, she saves $850 in expenses (450 saved on rent+ 400 insurance). So, no sympathy on the financial side.

[@MrThedarkfox]

@Mgorky This is about peoplein NYC making 1200/mo with a known medical condition, making decisions that exclude them from federal aid. Her condition was not shock, she know about it, and made a choice, to eschew stability and attempting to find an employer who will provide health insurance. This is not being failed by the system. Check your messages, I'm weary of dealing with your shenanigans in 500 characters or less.

[@werty8472]

The fact that she has a chronic disease doesn't disprove that she couldn't have planned it, because by being diagnosed with said disease, she gets to have the problem of having a pre-existing condition, which limits the availability of insurance companies that will allow you. As for savings... Well, "cartoonist" speaks for itself.

[@werty8472]

I actually agree with you on this point. But! The problem with looking at things realistically is that if she goes and gets a shitty place in a shitty town for a low amount of money, can save money for Medicaid, she loses her ability to be a figurehead for a cause that we've allowed to continue for far too long. The problem with figureheads is that they can never actualize into the ideal that we use them for, but without them, we couldn't convince the general public to do anything.

[@MrThedarkfox]

I live in a one-room efficiency, apprx 400ft including bathroom. It is not dank, and my out-of-pocket for rent and non-luxury utilities (elect/water/trash) is under 450. I'm about 45 minutes S of Cleveland, so, I'm sure everything in ohio meets your "the boons". However, the reductions in rent and income by 1/2 were more for simplifying math.

[@MrThedarkfox]

@Mgorky Many webcartoons publish books. You don't need to live in NYC to get books published. Again, case of I WANT.

[@sayweb]

what a story. It is unbelievable that she is not entitled to health care. This is evil.

[@VivekRajcoomar]

welcome to america

[@mtgmatador]

I feel this girls pain, I'm unemployed myself! However, I don't think that taking money from others to give it to me is fair in any way, I do believe the problem IS what this lady calls a solution: Government meddling, I think that if government aloud the free markets to work health insurance would be much cheaper, and the tax payer wouldn't be stuck with the tab of all the gvmt subsidies!

[@NathanRiveraMelo]

$900/month for rent in NYC 😮

[@AlexMartinez-xt1jl]

I often think man these people are living the life doing what they are doing living in brooklyn and having cool cartoonist friends. This is so very true but you know what? you dont need money to do that? i thought she was loaded but turns out i make more money than her working a normal job. her life seems kinda stressful but dam this insipires me to do the things i love because i could be worse off. I could only make 1200 a month and have lupus. Alot of us have way more than we need.

[@MrThedarkfox]

As for "being a cartoonist", she lives in the most expensive city in America. She got the short end of the fate stick with lupus, that is awful and my heart goes out to her. But she is crying about no health insurance while living in the #1 most expensive city in the USA. She is making a decision, that living in NYC is more important than making sure she can pay her medical bills. Ergo, she gets no sympathy from me. Health care is broken, but this is just a case of dumbassery and "BUT I WANT IT"

[@MrThedarkfox]

I'd be less likely to question a cause with figureheads who made smart(er) decisions, that's all I'm saying. (also check your messages)

[@MrThedarkfox]

@Mgorky Webcartoonist, watch at least some of the video. The crazy thing is, you can get on to the internet in places...that aren't NYC. Shocking, I know. This is not a case of a broken system, this is a case of BUT I WANT IT.

[@SandraSanchezDesign]

One comment from you was enough. You are an idiot.

[@MrThedarkfox]

@Mgorky Hm, yes, almost as if I was calling you on it as well... anyway, you've got mail, Chief.

[@whalenbrowne]

New York state not new york city.

[@werty8472]

Hee, I like you, you're fun. But here's the biggest tiff. You need to have all your calculations in order BEFORE anything happens. Most people are going to guess that most things dealing with- what was that, mouth surgery- are atypical or cosmetic. My guess is that's why both the insurance plans did not include it. How are you supposed to guess that you're going to get one of the things "not offered" by the company, or are you suggesting that people should take out multiple plans to cover?

[@domericci]

seriously?