Dec 20, 2013 4 min read

This column will be a little bit self-indulgent (in other words, all about me), but I want to write it because this subject does matter in a larger sense.

The personal stories about Obamacare these last couple months overwhelmingly have been about people who lost their coverage because their plan didn’t cover everything the Affordable Care Act required it to cover, or who struggled to get past the gridlock of Healthcare.gov, not people who gained insurance — the people Obamacare was designed to help.

Make no mistake, all of these stories are equally valid and will shape the way we’ll talk about the Affordable Care Act when we look back on it decades from now. (And I’ll also add that both sides are probably guilty of padding the details to support their existing opinion of Obamacare — so be wary of the stories you hear, especially if they’re secondhand about somebody’s uncle’s co-worker).

Here’s my (very true) story. After over two months of cursing Healthcare.gov, and almost two years of risking it by going without, I finally have health insurance. For the last couple months, there was some sort of error with either my insurance application or the website — I couldn’t see the reason for my inability to enroll, and phone calls lead nowhere — but now that’s resolved, the wait was worth it.

It seems uncouth to say how much my monthly premium is, but I’ll say President Obama was right about it costing less than a cable bill. It’s completely, totally manageable and with a very reasonable deductible, too.

I recognize that my own experience colors my opinion of Obamacare in a big way. And I want to thank people who have been inconvenienced — the people who have to change their coverage — for enduring the trouble of a health-care overhaul for the sake of people like me. My health insurance is no more or less important than yours.

But here’s the thing: eventually, this is going to level out, and in the end, a lot more people are going to be insured. And on top of that, even those who got bumped from their coverage will be insured with better plans that won’t end up leaving them in the lurch if/when an emergency happens.

I’m hearing from friends who lost their coverage and then discovered, after shopping around in the marketplace to replace what they lost, that they actually are going to save money and get better insurance. One friend is saving $100 a month! “I was upset that I lost [my insurance],” she said. “But now I’m glad.” (I did tell you not to trust secondhand stories, so I’ll understand if you don’t take my word for it, but I promise, this one’s true.)

We don’t talk enough about the mental health benefits of insurance that we gain, right off the bat.

There’s something that happened when I didn’t have health insurance. As a freelance writer trying to find my footing with self-employment, for a long time I wasn’t able to afford coverage that was worth it (i.e., not just catastrophic coverage), but wasn’t at an income level to qualify for Medicaid. I felt, somehow, less-than.

I thought about my lack of health insurance at least once a day. I’d have an achy back or another minor problem, and I’d be reminded that if it was, heaven forbid, something serious, I’d have to choose between bankruptcy or dealing with it.

I’ve ignored subtle health problems that aren’t by any means life-threatening but could have been taken care of with a quick visit. It’s a relief to know I’ll soon have answers.

I also won’t miss that moment when I’d go to the doctor (only the eye doctor, recently) and have to admit I don’t have health insurance. It made me feel like a gambler, like someone who didn’t have her life together.

In short, for a worrier like me, doing without health insurance was a big deal. The peace of mind is easily worth the monthly premium. And on top of that, I feel less … expendable. It’s another mental perk of being an insured American: I feel like I matter a little bit more now.

I feel like someone, somewhere deemed my health a priority, not a luxury.

It’s a big deal.

And 10 years from now, I’ll think we’ll agree this was a step forward -just one that took a little getting used to.