Had a baby at a young age. Worked full time to support my child. Small business provided no health coverage. At the time there was no Children's Insurance Plans...she got a kidney infection and I was put $36,000.00 in debt at age 19. My husband also works full time. Because we were in debt and lost our credit rating we couldn't afford to pay out of pocket for a dentist and could not get a loan. His teeth have rotted and now we can't afford to have them pulled and get dentures even with insurance (over 10K if you have dental insurance). ... (more)

Three years ago, within a six month period of time our family lost our brother, sister and father to cancer. Through it all, their strength, courage and even humor were testament to there character and love for our family. Unfortunately, during a time when they faced there own mortality, they also feared leaving their family burdened with the crushing cost of health care. We are a better nation than that. Passing meaningful health care reform will be a testament to all those who feared. It will be a testament to the character of our country... (more)

EVEN IF YOU HAVE "GOOD" INSURANCE ... Insurance companies do their best not to pay for covered problems. A friend who was dying of cancer in the hospital's oncology ward made the effort to see her friends to the elevator. This took a gargantuan effort on her part and it resulted in her being sent home because she was "ambulatory," and her insurance company would not pay for in-hosptal care. With deep emotions and much regret, the nurses removed all her IVs, including the morphine, and she was sent home in an ambulance... (more)

I chose to go into a freelance career, so for most of my life I've gone the self-pay route. In my 20s and with no pre-existing conditions, that was no big deal; premiums were about $100/month then. In the 90s, I was lucky enough to be able to join an union and they offered extremely good health insurance. But this insurance was conditional on my making at least 30k/year. In 2004, my husband was diagnosed w/Lewy Body Disease, a dementia much like Alzheimer's. I chose to become his primary caregiver and cut back on my work hours. I... (more)

I am an Australian registered nurse in Intensive Care with relatives in the US. When I visited them recently I was shocked to have my uncle ask me if he could use the antibiotics he uses on his cows on himself, as they were much cheaper, and owing to his multiple medical problems he required a lot of medications he could no longer afford. When my cousin found out his wife was pregnant he should've been overjoyed, but he was too worried about how he would fund the delivery. His own birth was complicated and was not payed off by his parents... (more)

Our story is one of tragedy involving the loss of our 16 year old daughter, which as difficult as it is to recount, illustrates why the battle to reform health insurance is vital to our country. We would like to share our story with you to prevent what happened to us from happening to another family. On August 5th 2009, our 16 year old daughter Codi Nicole Alexander, was hit by a car while riding her bicycle, in a crosswalk as she was returning from her summer job as a lifeguard and swim teacher in Gaithersburg Maryland. Codi was wearing a... (more)

When my younger brother died, my father walked out and filed for divorce. My mother who was grieving had a heart attack and was taken to the ER. We discovered that my father had cancelled her health insurance. The admissions rep told me that my mom could not be admitted and she needed to be transferred to a county hospital. While the resident on duty in ER fought to schedule her for open heart surgery, I called the insurance company and was told that they would not reinstate her coverage as a spouse because she obviously had a... (more)

I am 57 years old and get my insurance through my husband's job since I am self-employed. Right now I pay about $4000 a year for my premiums, but I have noticed that many things once covered by a co-pay, now require extra money from us, to the tune of $5000 last year. I have Diabetes Type II that is completely controlled by diet. My tests have all been stable for years because I have done what I could with diet and exercise. But I know that once my husband retires, I will not be covered for diabetes under any new plan because it will be a... (more)

I am an attorney. I specialize in consumer bankruptcy and disability cases. Day in and day out I see people whose financial lives have been ruined by healthcare expenses. This is true of those with and without insurance. On the disability side, I see countless people who may not even need social security disability if they could get decent affordable healthcare. Since none is available, their health deteriorates, and they must seek disability benefits in order to have access to medicare or medicaid, and to survive financially. The time... (more)

This morning, I heard one of the newscasters say: "Most American's do not want the federal government to take over the health care industry." I was getting my two youngest kids off to school and getting ready for work, so I don't know what facts or opinion he was quoting, but I was sure angry that he attempted to speak for me. I'm American and I indeed, think it is very important for the US government to do something about this mess the health care industry is in and that I have to suffer for. I wanted you to know what... (more)

My story is about my brother. My brother was diagnosed with Epilepsy when he was an infant. As a child his Epilepsy was well controlled with medication. As he got older his seizures were no longer controlled by medication and became more and more frequent. Since his seizures were so frequent he was unable to drive and took public transportation. A couple times a year he would have a seizure on the bus or in public and would be taken to the emergency room. While in the emergency room he was often hand-cuffed to the bed, sedated or... (more)

I had health insurance through my employer after I graduated from college. I was having problems with my stomach, I vomited blood at least once a week. I went to a doctor to get checked out, but was told my insurance did not cover my treatment unless I had a primary care physician approve me for specialized stomach treatment. I tried to find a primary care physician, but the earliest available appointment for any PCP in my town was 8 months away. I never got the appointment, I never got the treatment (remember, I just wanted to be checked... (more)

Our family of four purchases our own healthcare with a large deductible. We have 2 small businesses, two teenage children, 2 dogs, 2 cats and a dozen chickens! We are serious, hobbyist organic gardeners. 1-1/2 yrs ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Since then our premium has risen to an "unregulated" and difficult to manage amount. I didn't work during treatment and because of the economic slow down, I'm only currently working part time. Our other business, harvesting and manufacturing reclaimed antique, barn wood flooring and... (more)

My wife and I are both former Management Consultants. In 2000, we returned to Ohio to start a family. We were both involuntary participants of a series of layoffs at our respective firms. Our first son was due in June and as the date approached, I continued to pay into COBRA. After the delivery, all claims with regard to my wife's birth-related hospitalization were rejected. After retaining a lawyer and personally investigating this further, I learned that the COBRA payments had been "absorbed" by the former executives at my... (more)

I'm a 36-year-old American who was diagnosed with a blood cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma last year and received "R-CHOP" chemotherapy treatment in Japan. What had cost me approximately $9000 (with me paying 30% and the Japanese government covering the other 70% under its National Health Insurance program) would have cost in the US up to $125,000 - $250,000!!!!! One of the drugs, Rituxan, which made up most of the cost, $7,200 for 8 injections at $900 each time would have cost $15,000 for each injection at my local hospital in... (more)

For profit healthcare killed my wife. On my birthday, August 5, 2008, my wife and I went to see a cardiologist. She was told that she would have to wait seven days to get approval from her insurance company to proceed with testing. Stress testing and radioactive imaging were performed. Despite her family history and risk factors no additional test were run. On September 7, 2008 Becky passed away from Sudden Cardiac Arrest Syndrome. Single payer has got to be put on the table.

I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in Feb 1988 and have had health insurance for many years still paying 200.00 on top of what my employers werer paying. I changed jobs and now I cant get coverage because of my MS pre existing condition and the coverage costs. Please reform health care

I was unemployed and I had to purchase health care insurance for our family. The Anthem folks would not insure me because I have been diagnosed with CLL 10 years ago. I have never been treated for CLL in 10 years but it didn't matter, (no insurance). My wife goes to work so we can have health insurance for our family (2 daughters) and my wife and the same company (Anthem) now insures me and the family. I even called the CT State to find our how the insurance company can get away it. The message from my state rep was and I'm not kidding: The... (more)

While in my sophomore year of college I went to the emergency room in the middle of the night for seizure. It was discovered that I had a large brain tumor roughly the size of a small grapefruit. As a result, I underwent 3 very expensive brain surgeries. I live in California and am extremely frustrated with the Emergency room situation here. Uninsured people in lines going out the door go to ER for not real emergencies because they have no insurance and nowhere else to go. I, as an insured person with a true emergency, had to wait in line with... (more)

Dear Obama’s, I am writing to inform you of the health accident I have suffered and explain how so many wonderful and bismal actions are resulting from it. This tragic experience has and will have many great things stem from it rather than its initial onslaught. On June 24th, I woke up at 6am to an actual occurring stroke! Somewhat familiar, but bliss to the action, I acted out of sorts. Why wouldn’t I ya know. I am only 33 and very healthy! Many extraordinary things have taken place in a short amount of time. To make this more into... (more)