If You've Got Your Health ...

... then you've got everything. That's what they say.

But in today's economy, health insurance can be lost along with a job. And good health is no more guaranteed than jobs are.

CNN.com tells a compelling story about a woman who had been employed with a Honeywell plant in Florida for more than 20 years. A year ago, she and her co-workers lost their jobs when the plant closed and the jobs were moving to Mexico.

The woman was due to get married the next month. Then, in May, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

For awhile, she was still covered by her company's health insurance. But, by September, she had to pay for it herself. Under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), displaced workers can continue to be covered by their former employer's health care plan for a year and a half — but they must pay the premiums themselves.

For many people, those premiums take a huge chunk of their unemployment benefits — so many people are having to make choices between things like health insurance and mortgage payments.

Barack Obama's budget calls for the creation of a $634 billion health care reserve fund.

"Among the fund's goals are universal health care coverage and reducing growth in insurance premiums," CNN.com reports.

But that may be too little too late for many people.

As is a provision in the stimulus plan, under which the government will pick up nearly two-thirds of the costs of COBRA premiums. There is no doubt it will help many people, but there is a catch. To qualify, you must have lost your job after Aug. 31, 2008. The woman in the CNN report — and hundreds of thousands of others — lost their jobs before that date and will not qualify.

Once again, the short-sightedness of the American public is on full display.

I have written on this blog many times about the unwillingness of the American people to listen when leaders like Jimmy Carter warned of the perils of ignoring the need to develop alternative energy sources 30 years ago. The "sacrifices" Carter asked of Americans were viewed as intrusive, too hard on average Americans.

The price that must now be paid for sticking our heads in the sand will be staggering — and will be with us for years to come.

This is another example.

Sixteen years ago, as first lady, Hillary Clinton was appointed chairwoman of the Task Force on National Health Care Reform. She was vilified for her efforts by Republicans, who derided it as "Hillarycare." It was cited by pollsters as a major factor in the Republican takeover of Congress in the 1994 midterm elections.

In subsequent years, "Hillarycare" became the same kind of derogatory synonym for similar government plans that "Watergate" became for government scandals.

But how much better off would we be today if "Hillarycare" had become the law of the land?

With no employer–paid health insurance, many Americans will choose not to seek medical attention, even when they experience symptoms of serious, even life-threatening, illnesses.

The woman in the CNN.com report owes nearly $20,000 in medical bills. She is currently cancer-free, but she still faces additional surgeries.

When faced with a health care crisis, be it cancer or heart disease or anything else, the ability to pay should not be the major concern. Health care should be a right, not a privilege. It should not depend on whether one is employed.