Support for NPR and the following message come from the Walton Family Foundation, working to create access to opportunity for people and communities by tackling tough social and environmental problems.

More information is at waltonfamilyfoundation.org.

Hello, hello. I'm Brittany loose and you're listening to It's Been a Minute from NPR, a show about what's going on in culture and why it doesn't happen by accident.

Today, we're talking about a set of strange bedfellows, true love, and insurance coverage.

Many people are waiting or searching for that special someone to spend the rest of their lives with.

And many people want to live a long, healthy life that includes access to health care.

But to have both in America,

you kind of have to be extremely lucky. I've been fortunate enough to be the faithful host of this show

for almost three years now, a job that has granted me and my husband great and consistent health care.

But when I look back at my own health care history, it's a little spotty.

I've had bad jobs with good coverage, good jobs with bad coverage, good jobs with no coverage,

and even no job and no coverage.

Staying covered often feels like a game of luck. And the same can be said for love.

No matter how hard you try to find your forever person, there's a big chunk of the dating

game that's just out of your control. But the hard truth is, a lot of us depend on our partner

for health care and vice versa. At different points

of my own relationship, that's gone both ways. But when love and health care go hand in hand,

how does that change the dating game? When I met Josh and we easily fell in love, I was so

relieved and a little smug to realize that none of this advice was at all useful.

Capitalism emphasizes personal responsibility in all matters, but finding love is a role of the dice,

not that I would ever gamble.

That's author Maris Kreisman.

...