The debate over Obamacare continues and the political debate caused the government to shut down temporarily. This subject recently became personally for me when I learned that I was part of the 3% of Americans who carry individual health insurance plans who are being cancelled. So all the sudden, I was included in the group of uninsured Americans and had to figure out my next move.

The problem to be addressed stemmed from the millions of Americans who go to sleep each night without the safety net of health insurance coupled with the financial devastation that a lack of insurance can cause. Let's take a look at the challenges:

- It's nearly impossible for anyone who is sick to obtain insurance at a reasonable cost if they're already sick when they apply
- Many people don't seek insurance until they are actually sick...they play the odds that they will be young forever or simply can't afford it
- Insurance companies would go out of business if forced to insure people with expensive-to-treat illnesses without raising the premiums substantially

Insurance companies are not necessarily to blame. If they were forced to insure every American who is ill without the freedom of adjusting premiums, they would be out of business quickly. Therefore, President Obama, while introducing his healthcare reform bill, made health insurance mandatory for all citizens. The idea was not to penalize younger, healthier people who are often inexpensive to insure. The problem is that there's no way to insure people who have expensive illnesses without government subsidies or the premiums from younger, healthier citizens to supplement the cost of insuring sick ones.

Therefore, Americans are now legally obligated to carry health insurance or risk a fine. Whether these fines will actually be levied or not is anyone's guess. Thus far, the uptake rate of this health plan has been dismal. Do you want to guess who are the people rushing to sign up? My guess is that these are the people that stand to benefit the most from the new plan: older and less healthy people who risk financial disaster without insurance, pregnant women, single parents perhaps? I can't imagine that younger, healthier individuals without insurance are beating down the Obamacare door to shell out money they may not have.

That creates a sticky situation all around. If the limited amount of people who have signed up for the new health care system are only the ones that stand to gain (i.e. save themselves money on healthcare), then what is the administration to do? Subsidize. Back to point mentioned above: Obamacare only works when younger, healthier premiums supplement the more expensive to insure. Seemingly, the system is only being flooded by the later.

Health and Nutritional Assistance

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the largest program aimed at combatting hunger in the United States. The program currently helps millions of low income individuals and families find nutritional assistance. The program works with State agencies and faith-based organizations to ensure that those eligible for nutritional assistance can make informed decisions about applying for the program and access the benefits.

Beware of Scams

You do not need help applying for the SNAP program nor should you have to pay a fee for 'better service' or to help 'guarantee qualification'. You can apply for free and easily at your local SNAP office.