As a person with a profound physical disability, and as the son of a doctor, my life has been intimately connected to healthcare from the day I was born. I am also one of the lucky ones in that regard, as I did not have to worry about whether or not I would receive the care I need to survive, due to my parents’ insurance and Medicaid. So, when attending Professor Nicholson’s Rose Cafe about the rising costs of medical pills, I was exposed to an aspect of medicine I had rarely thought about, and never really considered especially important in my life. However, after going to the talk and hearing about the various political and economic forces influencing healthcare in the United States, I now realize that it is of critical importance. While i am fortunate my disability does not necessitate large amounts of pills or medications, I do use a lot of medical equipment which can be quite expensive in its own right. When Professor Nicholson talked about how other nations deal with medical prices differently, it made me think about how I have struggled to get insurance (both public and private) to pay for my own medical devices. It also made me think, if I have such trouble getting a one-time purchase I clearly need even with both public and private insurance, how much harder is it for people who have long-term healthcare costs to get what they need, especially if they do not have good enough private insurance (I don’t know how much Medicaid/Medicaid helps with these things, I should hope significantly)? This is an disturbing question for me to ask, as it reveals some of the deep inequality present in America’s present economic system, and leads me to ask if there is a solution to that inequality. Hopefully we will find one soon.