Isn't it ironic that after a lifetime of paying for health insurance while healthy enough to have a job, the insurance companies will drop me and declare me uninsurable as soon as I can no longer afford to make those payments due to health reasons.

My 83 year old mother is a diabetic amputee. When my father passed away several years ago, all of my her financial and health benefits ceased. She now struggles everyday to afford her medication and oftentimes relys on family to make it through. We really need this health care reform so that our parents, and so that we, won't have to be concerned about getting the necessities in life...like adequate health care and affordable medications.

I have had to fight my insurance company for years to get them to cover expenses for my son who has autism. Dealing with autism everyday is so very difficult without the added burden of having to worry about being able to get some therapy for him that the doctor says he needs.

I have a daughter who has been disabled since birth and whose medical bills in the millions have been taken care by both; Medicare and Medical. However, in the last eight years, her benefits, as well as, the health benefits of all Americans have been drastically reduced by the Bush Administration and the Republican Party. We need to ensure that all Americans have a roof, a plate of food, a glass of water and proper medical health. God Bless.

The current free market system of health care is not working. When I delivered my daughter 2 years ago, I had excellent PPO health coverage through my husband's insurance, Blue Shield of CA. You'd think this was good news, but I was shocked to see how many additional tests, procedures and specialist visits were ordered on my behalf simply because "Your policy covers it." What was a routine pregnancy was over-medicalized, and my labor was induced, resulting in an emergency c-section that I believe was completely unnecessary. In... (more)

I have been lucky to work for an employer large enough to provide insurance for its employees. However, several years ago my company started asking its employees to pay 15% of the premium for their own coverage. The company previously paid the entire cost for each employee. This past year we added a high-deductible plan with a Health Savings Account. Three years ago we instituted a wellness program. We have taken some steps to help stop the spiraling costs of our insurance plan but our carrier keeps coming back with double digit increases... (more)

A couple of years ago I was denied a procedure by Blue Cross. I had a heart attack a few years prior and I needed to get my wisdom teeth removed. The oral surgeon recommended I go to the hospital for the procedure as a outpatient. So he could use an anaesthesia on me and I could be monitored. He did not feel comfortable doing it in his office because of my history with my heart. And I was denied by the insurance company. They deemed it unnessary probably cause of the cost. Hence, I still have my wisdom teeth and at times they hurt. I have been... (more)

My family has been hit very hard by this present economic crisis. THe very first thing my husbands company did to cut back was to make every employee pay for their own insurance. Because of this, and the fact that they are witholding our paychecks, (we are 5 behind), has ruined us. We have had to use up all of our retirement just to survive. The cost for insurance is so high that they have even had to cancel it from time to time to keep the lights on in the building where he works. I am not able to work because I just had abdominal surgery. I... (more)

My fourth desired requirement for health care delivery would be that all health care providers: hospitals, physicians, nurses, and others be guaranteed the right of conscience NOT to perform precedures which are against their moral standards and religious faith. This is a fundamental right and consistent with separation of church and state.

About 15 years ago, my grandfather underwent quadruple by-pass surgery. With the combination of Dr. visits, the surgery itself, follow-ups and medication, the hospital bill came to over $60,000. This was my grandparents entire combined income. They did their best to pay off the medical expenses, but it was not good enough for the hospital, who pushed hard to get all of their money, even threatening my grandparents with a law-suit. Unable to see any other way out of their debt, they were forced to sell the home they raised their kids and their... (more)

To all the members of congress: I have been doing allot of thinking on the issue of health care, amongst others... I can not believe, that This country has fallen prey to the demands of special interest. Do you realize that regular people like myself, can not afford health care, do you care, or maybe its a matter of rationalizing your position so you can sleep at night. What ever it is, it is not right or equitable, in any way. You have to be embarrassed by the fact that the rest of the world looks at us as a money grubbing country, one... (more)

I am a contract worker for the state of California. That means that I have to pay for my own health care. On what I make, the only policy I can afford is really only "house insurance." That is, it doesn't pay much of anything for routine preventive care. It really is only good for catastrophic illness -- and not very good at that. The result is that things I should take care of are postponed. I am a "middle class" professional. My mother, who was a clerical worker, had better, cheaper, health care. Something went... (more)

I really hope our health care situation changes drastically. I have not had a health care provider for over two years because of the high costs. Although I've been working at the same company for over six years, I am not given the opportunity to get health insurance because I work less than 35 hours a week, and I do this because of school. I have been going to college full time in order to get my degree in Sociology. I am happy to say that I graduated today! However, with the economy and the abundance of job cuts, I'm concerned about finding a... (more)

My mother is a liver transplant due to a hereditary illness. She was diagnosed in 1981 and has been paying for all her medical care while she was employed and had medical insurance. However, now she is 61, and unable to work. She was denied disability, and cannot afford such high medical costs. She was recently diagnosed with another illness and her medical costs have increased. She currently pays almost $1,000 a month for insurance. In addition she has the expenses of doctor's visit copays, memdicine copays , over the counter meds and all... (more)

My family has been fortunate. My husband recently retired from the FAA, and though we now pay in full our medical premiums, we can rest assured that medical care is available for us. Two of our adults sons had medical conditions as children (both are healthy now). One son works for a large worker's union and has excellent medical coverage (which he has not had to access). Our other son is employed with a state contractor which does not offer insurance. Therefore, we have kept his eligibility with the federal government's medical options... (more)

Dear President Barrack Obama, I'd like to begin with my appreciation that you are taking the initiative to evoke my thoughts. My personal story is one that begins about 19 years ago when I suffered a closed head injury from a wave runner accident that left me in a coma for a couple weeks. With a completely different mindset and surreal goals following the accident I dropped out of college and headed out West from Louisville, KY to Hollywood, CA. My first real job, at Creative Computers provided me with insurance to go to a top... (more)

Both my wife and I have been declined medical insurance due to pre-existing conditions. Although we were able to get our kids insured via individual health care, both my wife and I have been declined due to pre-existing conditions. For me my condidtion is High Blood Pressure, for my wife, she had some pre-cancerous cells removed from her cervix over two years ago, with nothing but clean PAP smears since. I finally was able to get onto a group policy, by meeting the minimum requirements of my Union, however I have not made enough money to... (more)

Personal Story - Health Care in America The health care crisis in our country is definitely newsworthy and almost every American knows someone in their family, or of someone with no health insurance or inadequate health insurance. As a school counselor in a middle/junior high school, I hear of stories upon stories of children and adults with no health care and it is disheartening. While I work with children and their parents on behavioral and family issues, invariably I hear about someone in the family with a serious illness that... (more)

It’s amazing to me that a country like ours, that has always been on the cutting edge of innovation, we can’t find a reasonable way to handle health care. Any intelligent person would have to agree that the cost to maintain decent health care is just to high. The quality of care makes no sense, as it is almost nile. The system as it is insufficient. How many more people have to die needlessly, before we get this. I am one of many people in this nation that fit the demographic of the uninsured. In december I started bleeding from my... (more)

I have been doing allot of thinking on the issue of health care, amongst others... I can not believe, that This country has fallen prey to the demands of special interest. Do you realize that regular people like myself, can not afford health care, do you care, or maybe its a matter of rationalizing your position so you can sleep at night. What ever it is, it is not right or equitable, in any way. You have to be embarrassed by the fact that the rest of the world looks at us as a money grubbing country, one that can't provide, (at the... (more)