My family's story is very recent.... we were an average middle-class family and my husband was laid-off without notice and we only had six days of health coverage left. He was given only two week's pay for severence. I had not been working this year to concentrate on our teenage daughter. With that said, we had very little in our savings. Cobra Health Care is $518.00 a month (with recent Obama Stimulus) and it will be $1400.00 a month when that part is over. It has been a month and we have not received our Arizona Unemployment (because... (more)

She is 84 years old. Born and raised in KY, educated, married and lived most of her life in IL. Now in AZ these last 8 years. She is the oldest child of a woman who lived to be 99 and the granddaughter of a woman who lived to be 103. Her name is Mary and she was mother to three children born over 10 years, one son a soldier in the USAF serving in Viet Nam for several years. He came home, raised a small family, and died suddenly at age 49 of Agent Orange cancer. Her second child a girl, now 62, had brain cancer and was given 11 months to live,... (more)

Family members have health insurance, but it is poorly understood, and the deductible is so high that it is a disincentive to seek regular health checkups and care. We need more emphasis on preventative medical, dental and mental health care. They are all equally important to a healthy life.

My insurance company charges the same amt. of money if I need 45 pills or 90 pills for the same medication over a 90 period and when I question them they tell me all insurances do this. My sister was without work and without health insurance Can not get medications she needs without laboratory tests. She can either get these tests or lose her house to foreclosure. She can not aford to do both.

Our son at a very early age was diagnosed with detached retinas in both eyes. The efforts to save his eyes required 20+ surgeries and multiple long distance trips to hospitals in other states. As a young family, working our first real job with health benefits, we were forced to look for help to cover the costs that insurance wouldn't cover. If it were not for an outpouring of support from individuals that we knew and didn't know, this experience would not only have left us with the disappointment of the minimal success we had with saving... (more)

I live in Arizona where many of my friends do not have adequet health benifits. Many of my friends have such low paying jobs that they have to choose between paying a large premiumn for health care or gamble and go without so they can pay their morgage/rent. This does not include all the other essential bills just to live from paycheck to paycheck. Many of you I am sure know that Arizona is a Right to Work State, and pay nad benifits and generally so poor that in some cases you might as well not enroll in any medical insurance package. WE all... (more)

I am 62 years old and am self employed The cost of health insurance is way beyond my budget and haven't had it for eight years. Until three years ago, I could afford to visit my doctor once a year for an annual examination, but could not afford the other costly exams for women over 50. In the past three years I have not seen a doctor. My story is not unusual; I know there are Americans in worse shape. I am thankful I've not had a serious illness. If that should happen, I will be bankrupt.

When I worked as an editor for several years, I had no health insurance through my employer. I took a job at a local school and fortunately was offered health benefits there. Because of job cuts, I was nearly laid off this year and once again was worried about losing my healthcare. I simply could not afford high medical bills on my current salary. After worrying I'd have no healthcare these past few years, I'd really like to see some kind of government healthcare so that people who are laid off and lose their employer insurance have a backup.... (more)

My father who is 86 yesrs old has just suffered a severe stroke. I wa sitting acorss the table from him when the left side of his face started to droop, he began slurring his words and he lost the use of the left side of his body. I called 911 and he was rushed to mayo hospital in Scottsdale Arizona. The care he received their was wonderful however when it can to sending him to a skilled nursing facility the choices were limited because even though he had medicare he really has a private insurance company who follows the medicare guidelines... (more)

I would rather not, for now.

My husband and I are busy working professionals in our late 40's - he is a software engineer and I'm an accountant - raising two teenage children in Phoenix, AZ. I work for a small CPA firm that doesn't provide health insurance because it's not cost effective. Our family is covered through the corporation where my husband works. Over the last 10 years, our family's health care benefits have been continually reduced while medical costs have continued to rise. Every year our out-of-pocket deductible has been raised, the bi-monthly premiums have... (more)

I live in a small rural town where most of the people dont have health insurance. I am lucky to get some from my work, but its taking up most of my paychecks every month. I just hope that I never get hurt or sick because I dont know if I can afford that.

I have worked in the medical field for 30 years. I support all people having access to health care, not just a chosen few. I have good health insurance but know i am one of the lucky ones. I empower my president to keep fighting for whats right, not whats so expensive, working people can not afford to buy the medications they need. They can gather the cash to get to the doctor but then they can't afford the medicene that the doc orders. This is very sad.

I was laid off after working almost 3 years at a job. I was informed that I could keep the medical through COBRA for like $500 dollars a month! Where is somebody going to find $500 dollars when Arizona only pays $240 a week for unemployment. I concider myself lucky I found a job after 3 months, but there are people really hurting!

My husband and I are in the middle class. I lost my job 2 years ago and he lost his 2 years ago. We are now self employed and the cost of health insurance is OUT OF CONTROL.... There is nothing more frustrating to see those large fancy buildings and now you have doctors that just try to rush in you and out of the office... The middle man needs to be taken out............ One last thing is my husband and I work hard to keep our head above water and then you see how the system just gives health care to the welfare people (living in... (more)

I have many health issues, and applied for social security disability benefits. I was denied based on my income, rather than my health. My health issues were not even considered in the decision. If a person makes more then the allowed $980 per month, regardless of their health issues, they can not get benefits that would allow them to stop working and collect the benefits asked for. Working all your live and paying into those benefits is not a factor. My health is not a factor. Just my income at the time I applied for social security... (more)

My daughter and I do not have health insurance because we can not afford to purchase it.

While in college, I lost insurance coverage through my mother's employee plan. Though I was an excellent student, a leader in the campus community, and someone who leads an overall healthy and prudent lifestyle, I was worried about the possibility of needing emergency coverage that would send me into debt. Even though I worked in 3 offices on campus, I was unable to pay for both school, food, and health care. I applied for state health care, a very difficult and time-consuming process, unsuccessfully. Luckily, my university offered a... (more)

A few years ago, when I wanted to start my own business, I was confronted with the reality that no insurer would write an individual health insurance policy for me. I was declined coverage because I had pre-existing, genetically-driven conditions -- even though those conditions had long been successfully managed with medications and positive lifestyle choices (exercise and diet). It was extremely disappointing. My dream of entrepreneurship was dashed and I had no choice but to once again become an employee. Having no health... (more)

My husband and I are lucky to have health insurance, although no dental coverage. Most of the people we know and meet are within our age group, over 50 years old, and have no health insurance and cannot afford a private policy. Even with our insurance we struggle to pay our share of the costs and the premiums rise each year.