Health-Care Activism Is Failing The Disabled Community
The #IAmAPreexistingCondition protests have left me feeling more invisible than ever.
A s Republicans voted in the House to repeal and replace Obamacare, thousands of people used the hashtag #IAmAPreexistingCondition on Twitter and added it to their Facebook profile pictures. The hashtag was created to protest the broad, and often absurd, expansion of what constitutes a preexisting condition in the AHCA: acne as a pre-existing condition? Paying higher premiums simply because you’re a woman? No wonder the internet was up in arms. I joined in the hashtag with vigor at first, eager to share my story as a disabled woman with a world that finally seemed interested in hearing it.
But as the hashtag continued to trend, my initial optimism waned. I quickly realized this outrage wasn’t about me or the rest of the disability community, who have always had the most to lose from health-care reform — this was about centering the fears and anger of people who’ve rarely been interested in understanding my own. The protests left me feeling more invisible than ever.
I’ve never needed a hashtag to “come out” as disabled. My disability was obvious from the day I was born. I have no fingers on my right hand, and it’s often the first thing people notice when they…
