I am writing about my niece and her husband. Jeff and Jordan. She works 32 hours per week and does not have health coverage available. She works as a customer service person at a grocery store. Her husband works full time as a cook for a hospital. He makes less than ten dollars per hour. He is a professional chef by trade. He carries the family health care and pays one hundred dollar per week! Out of a fort- hour week at less than ten dollars, this is roughly one quarter of his income that leaves little to live on after taxes. Jordan had... (more)

As a physician, I have several stories that I can share regarding my concerns of how our health care system have failed many of my patients as well as myself and others who work as health care professionals. However, one particular story that stands out in my mind is one of which I acquired a patient who was admitted through the emergency room (E.R.) at a north Texas hospital for abdominal pain. This kind single lady in her 40's worked every day as a truck driver, but could not afford health insurance because of its enormous cost. ... (more)

I work as a nurse and am a single parent to 4 children and also take care of my mother. i do not have healthcare nor do my children. I tried applying for CHIPs and made 600$ too much yearly. I tried going full time and lost $10.00/hr and was not able to provide food for my house. I believe I should be able to provide healthcare for my household and provide food for my family.Instead of choosing whether we eat or can go to the doctor or dentist for appropriate care.

In 1993 in Alabama, my wife and I were both employed by the same employer. The employer went bankrupt. When we looked into COBRA we found it was not available, because COBRA only regulates an existing insurance contract. In bankruptcy, the contract is suspended, hence no COBRA. Because of my unique medical history, I found it impossible to buy any health insurance for myself, at any price; my solution was to enroll as a UAB student solely to be able to qualify for the student health insurance. To cover my wife and two small children, I... (more)

I actualy have two stories to tell. The first one is in regard of my daughter Lisa Gay Bran that passed away 4 years ago. Lisa lived in tennessee and had waited till she was 35 to enjoy the pleasures of mother hood. The little blessing from God came on 5 September 2000 and lisa name her Ashley. On September 0f 2004, Lisa was diagnosed with cancer. She underwent a complete hysterectomy and the growth was supposebly removed. Due to the fact that she did not have insurance, she was discharged quickly and received only limited kemo. The... (more)

I am a 49 year old divorced RN, who was diagnosed with "MS" (multiple sclerosis) 3 years ago. Over night my life drastically changed,to never be the same again. I will never work in patient care again. I am fortunate that the Hospital System I work for has made available to me 2 days a week from home so I can keep my insurance. If I were to lose this I am uninsurable. The drugs to "hopefully" modify MS are over $15,000 a year, they have reached the time frame for generic competition BUT due to the power of the drug... (more)

I am 58 years old. I just found out that I will be unemployed in 2 weeks. I asked for the Cobra costs and was forwarded an email saying it will be $950 a month. I now am worrying how I will pay the cost of COBRA. Also I am concerned about my insurance options after the COBRA runs out. I don't know how I will pay my expenses and the insurance at the same time. Please include a public option so I can by insurance at a more reasonable cost.

I live in Chicago, IL and my mother of age 59 has been unemployed since October 2007. SHE WORKED FOR 32 years with the CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSYTEM and was 8 months from retirement when her principal quit in September 2007 and an interim principal came in and started cutting positions to buy office furniture and hire his friends instead. She cannot retire for she is too young still, but she could not afford to keep her apartment and lost that in August 2008 and has been living with me and my son since then. Her unemployment is a lifesaver... (more)

I lived in Europe for most of my adult life and know from first-hand experience how distorted are the stories being told by those opposed to reform. European citizens generally have much more choice and access to health care than Americans. The outcomes are significantly higher than in the U.S. The costs are dramatically lower, especially for pharmaceuticals and routine procedures. In the U.S., it is the insurance companies that are denying care and limiting access to procedures. So all the horror stories about "government control"... (more)

My mother was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer, that diagnosis led to a quick death for my mother when I was 15 years old. I am now a mother of two with low income and I cant afford to financially cover the screenings that I need to avoid the sickness that most woman face today. My employer offers medical insurance but the premium is in no way affordable. I am in high hopes of President Obama's plan to reform the healthcare in America.

My story is a bit different -- it contrasts our broken system with the much maligned "socialized medicine" of western Europe. I was Labor Attaché at our embassy in The Hague, Netherlands. While doing damage control in our flooded house, I fell 30 feet off a 3-storey roof onto a brick patio. Within seven minutes the Dutch EMT's arrived and quickly transferred me to Bronovo Hospital. With 3 broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a shattered elbow, I was admitted immediately into intensive care. The team of doctors stabilized me,... (more)

Chronic Lyme disease, perhaps the biggest endemic disease to hit our country is being ignored and dismissed by the Infectious Disease Society of America. The disease mimics Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, MS and many other illnesses out there. I have been an RN x 16 years and was struck by this horrible disease 2 1/2 years ago. It took 2 years to get a diagnosis. The disease has cost me my job, my marriage, my home, and any kind of quality of life. My kids suffer from not having a Mother who can nurture them the way they deserve. The... (more)

Hi, I am a nurse. I live in Texas close to the border. When I became pregnant with my Daughter I was shocked at the amount of money I would have to pay even with my insurance. I decided to have my child in Mexico. If someone would have told me that I would be giving birth in Mexico, I would have said you are crazy, but this is what I had to do. Even thought my husband and I both had good paying jobs. The copay was just too much. We need a healthcare plan that is affordable with no copays and covers everyone equally no matter what their income.... (more)

The stories I've read here on this site--even in privileged Santa Barbara--are heartbreaking. I consider myself a very lucky individual because I have an employer that does provide affordable health insurance for it's employees. I might actually be homeless if it didn't because my husband is self-employed and we both have serious health issues. Tragically, my niece did not, and she died as a result of not having adequate health care or the funds to obtain it. She did not live in a third world country--no, she lived in Northern California! The... (more)

How GOOD Health Care works! I have experienced very good health care that could be used as a model for our national system. 1) As the child of an active-duty military man, ALL of my health care all over the country & in Europe (incl. dental & eye care) was supplied by Government employees (socialized) until I was 21 years old and out of college. It worked well and there were few delays, even though active duty personnel had priority. 2) When I was visiting friends in Stuttgart (single-payer) as an adult, I got really sick. I got... (more)

I am a family physician. I spent my first five years out of residency in the Indian Health Service then worked in public health for over a year in Denver. The people who don't have health insurance in this country are suffering. They have to choose between paying an electric bill and taking their loved one to a doctor. The costs to humanity and to the community are staggering. Ultimately, we all pay for this by overloaded emergency rooms (which cost much more than preventive care), more sick days from workers and an infrastructure that... (more)

Dear President Obama, My story starts with my elderly mother. Two years ago she fell and broke her hip. She also has dementia. She is 89 years old. She has paid for catastrophic health insurance since 1978 - 31 years. When she was placed in a nursing home and we applied for her custodial care benefit we got the runaround from AIG. Her care costs $6400 a month and the insurance company delayed and delayed. Our family panicked. We were worried that she would be put out of the nursing home or lose everything she had. I finally filed a... (more)

I am a pharmacist in Virginia. I can't tell you the hours I spend with insurance companies fighting to get medications covered through Prior Authorization services. Yes... I will admit there is overprescribing and not enough cost consideration taken when doctor's prescribe medications. That in itself has brought on the whole Prior Authorization process about. We do need to be more judicious in our choice of medications. I can see in the future where Doctor's will diagnose and Pharmacists will prescribe... because lets face it, we know more... (more)

I am 31 years old, and have both a congenital hearing loss and depression. Our HR person told me that our Blue Cross Blue Shield representative told him that the reason insurance doesn't cover hearing aids is that they "encourage people to take sign language classes." As insurance doesn't cover sign language classes either, that's a poor argument. (Not to mention, callous and insulting!) A mid-level hearing aid costs around $2500, and I need two. How on earth can I afford that? My husband is a student. Without a hearing aid, I have... (more)

I have an unusual vantage point in observing the health care issues. For 25 years I've specialized in auditing facility claims, mostly for managed care organizations. I've had my own business for the past 10 years. I have made a very good living off of the extraordinary waste in the billing and payment system. What I see every day is that the level of waste related to errors, abuse, miscoding, overcharging, incompetence, complexity, greed, etc. etc. is staggering. There is so much room for error at every stage in the process, I wonder... (more)