I'm in my mid twenties and have always been quite healthy - athletic, non-smoker, 5'4, 120 pounds. Then in 2006, I was diagnosed with severe cervical dysplasia, which is the precursor to cervical cancer. After undergoing a LEEP procedure to remove pre-cancerous cells from my cervix using a laser, my insurance company not only dropped me from any further coverage related to cervical dysplasia/cancer, but from all other cancer coverage, period. You name it - brain, bone, lung, whatever - not covered. It didn't matter to them that those other types of cancer were completely unrelated (cervical cancer is caused by a virus in the vast majority of cases, and this is important because it is a leading cause of death in women). They dropped me from all cancer coverage. The premium also went up by around $300 per month.

What's important, though, is that this story is just one out of millions in this country. What's even more important is that that there are a lot of stories much worse than mine that have resulted in fellow Americans dying due to the selfishness of insurance companies, who operate in the name of profit - not health or care. It's unacceptable. Because of this, people's health-related issues are a main cause of bankruptcy in this country, often through no fault of their own - and that was true before the economic crisis. It will continue to get worse. Health care should be a guarantee for every American - rich or poor, lucky (so far) or unlucky - and if incentives are put in place towards getting people healthier, all the better. No American should be denied care or have to sacrifice close to everything - if not everything, including their life - to get decent health service. We can do this right. We need change right now.