According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 30 percent of 19-24 year olds are uninsured, more than any other group.

In its 2008 study, the Commonwealth Fund found that 66 percent of young adults aged 19 to 29 who experienced a time without coverage in the past year said they had gone without it because of the cost.

The GOP's and Blue Dog's solution: Catastrophic insurance. Catastrophic insurance doesn't kick in until $2,500-$5,000 from what I've seen. Even if they start at a $1,000 deductible, you're still talking about a prohibitive expense, particularly in this job market.

So, kids like Ms. Young end up airlifted to emergency rooms, when an office visit with proper pharma coverage might have sufficed. The unlucky ones like her pay the ultimate price for our lack of compassion and self centered drive to maintain the status quo; in the face of overwhelming moral and financial evidence; that we should do otherwise.

A large part of our uninsured population has always been young adults. The general consensus has been that they're less likely to need healthcare, and therefore insurance. The Swine Flu, however, affects the young in disproportionate numbers. Thousands of students at Washington State University were recently afflicted.

Much like the recent immolation of everything Wall Street touches, human error and Mother Nature have exposed the Status Quo for what it is: Greed triumphing violently over compassion, common sense and decency.

News of Kimberly Young’s death Wednesday, Sept. 23, came as a shock to those who knew the vibrant 22-year-old who was working at least two jobs in Oxford after graduating with a double major in December 2008. Young lived in an off-campus apartment and had been working at least two jobs — four years at the Kofenya coffee shop and nearly three years at the Bagel & Deli, both on High Street in uptown Oxford. At the Bagel & Deli, a memorial sign in the window reads, in part: "In a world where happiness comes with such a price, you made everyone richer by just being you. Life just isn’t the same without you, friend."

Rest in Peace Miss Kimberly Young

22 years of age.

(198?-2009)

This is what happens when Wall Street Owns HealthCare

Percentages of ownership of insurance companies by Wall Street Banks and funds:

United 86.03%

WellPoint 89.03%

Aetna 91.80%

CIGNA Corp. 84.91%

Coventry Health 92.87%

Health Net Inc. 100.59% ???

Humana 88.88%

Amerigroup 108.38% (WTF???)

The same 15-20 companies that own and control 40% shares in these health insurance companies control 20% of GE, 40% of CBS and 25% of ABC. Perhaps, that has something to do with overexposure of manufactured dissents instead of factual reporting and data analysis.