I'm sorry Mr. President but i'm afraid that you and your advisors are being taken in by the Health Care Professionals. Profit is their motive and the only thing that they can live with. Lying comes natural to them because recent histry shows that lying is extremely profitible. PLEASE don't fall into their "records show' trap.

This is a thank you note for what you have already done, and I support you in the future in this effort as well. I was laid off last Thursday, while in the process of scheduling revision surgery on a hip replacement that is defective. Thanks to your current aid, I will have 65% of my COBRA premium paid for the next nine months, which will allow my existing policy to continue and to cover the cost of my hospitalization and rehab. You are helping me NOW, and I cannot thank you enough. I have faith this will all work out for the best. Knowing... (more)

My health care payments are taking away my pension.

I was involved in a mill closing in Lee, MA. The plant manufactured paper on this site for almost 200 years. The company provided good jobs and benefits for local families. When the mill closed over 200 hard working Americans were displaced. The most difficult loss was their Health Insurance benefits. Most were unable to afford COBRA coverage and had to go without Healthcare while they looked for employment. Unfortunately, the lack of opportunity in the Northeast has meant their difficulty has persisted. I believe that our government has... (more)

I had two major back surgeries four years ago. I had health insurance through my job. I'll be paying the difference between what it payed and what it cost for years to come!

I am a retired Internist , I have two sons who are interniusts . The three of us feel that a single payer system is the way to go. There must be a government plan in the final package

My family is lucky that my husband works for the school system and we have access to good health insurance. I am a cancer survivor of 4-1/2 years and good health coverage is imparitive. My sister isn't so lucky. She has Crohn's and her husband was hurt at work. He has since lost insurance coverage. In the 2 months that it took them to change over to the Mass. State coverage they have gone into debt. They only have partial coverage and have had to use the mortgage money to cover the medical bills and medicine co-pays. Please help to make... (more)

Diane Rose of Pittsfield, MA, a good friend of mine, died because she didn't have medical insurance and was poor. Unable to pay for doctors, she delayed going to see one about troubling symptoms. By the time she did, it was too late. It was cancer and it had spread through her body and into her brain.

I´m a healtcare cordinator in Finland and someone call mee FAIR PLAY-Shepherd. We have to start healthcare in our schoolsystems. And my opinion : FAIR PLAY let´s play our schools. U.S & German & Finland. Start boxing match against mr Valuejev & mr FAIR PLAY-Sheperd. Sport against drugs and violence and we all show that all over the world and collect schoolmatherials to the Afganistan´s schools. That´s is a good start to make a healthacare in every schools in U.S and all over the world. Mr President You can caal Din King and... (more)

I am personally lucky to retain health insurance, from my employer, into retirement. However I volunteer at a free clinic" VIM" (Volunteers in Medicine) in Great Barrington, Mass. and I see people coming in every day who have no health insurance, cannot afford treatment and/or cannot afford the medications needed to preserve their lives. The clinic is able to provide treatment and fund the medications, but at some point this will become impossible and funds will run out. All the staff, Physicians,Nurses,Dentists, Optometrists and... (more)

i am a healthy 68 year old woman, but i worry that i will be unable to pay for any health care that i may need in the future. I am also hopeful that this reform will find ways to help people to lead a healthier life style. We are paying for the health care of many who have abused thier health in their early years. I would like to see an initiative that informs young people about wellness, and that finds barriers to those companies that exploit individuals by offering fast and unhealthy food choices.

I am in the health care field. I chose this profession to help people, but cannot help enough because of lack of health care. We are AMERICANS. We are one...one nation, one health plan.

I live in the Berkshires and like so many other areas if the country there are a lack of OBs as well as primary care doctors. Some of this is certainly due to the burgeoning cost of malpractice insurance. In a country as great and prosperous as the US health care should be a basic right of all the people.

No story to tell just a deep sense of fairness regarding the folks who don't have the same coverage that I am fortunate enough to have. No one should have to worry about covering the costs to maintain good health!

Last year I paid more than $6000 to keep my health insurance (COBRA). My savings account is now empty.

The insurance companies are running a complete racket, and now that democrats can pass a single payer universal health care plan, maybe now all voices accusing the democrats of being "republican lite" will be proven wrong. Last week my wife was having a series of severe headaches - so bad that she left work for the emergency room where an MRI was taken. Thank goodness a serious tumor was ruled out. It was determined that she had a series of atypical migraine headaches. The doctor provided the appropriate prescription... The... (more)

I am a single mom. I made the mistake of marrying an alcoholic. And that's okay. I leanred a lot from the experience. I don't get much help from him and he is unemployed and unemployable so no matter what the judge says, I can't get money from him. Fortunately, I live with my mom. I am a case manager at a homeless shelter and my take-home pay is $400 a week (roughly). Daycare is about $90 per week. My health insurance is $108 for the two of us ($40 for a single!!!!) How can I live off of just over $200 a month!? I give my mother... (more)

I'm a small business owner and health care is my single largest expense after salaries. I have provided health care for my employees from the moment that we were profitable enough to do so. I have been providing everyone with the same quality care that I have. Over the years we have had to accept plans that were riddled with loop holes with higher and higher co-pays. At the same time I continue to hear how the CEO's of the health care companies enjoy larger and larger bonuses. Some so large that they defy common sense, and one wonders if... (more)

My story is one of hope. I would like to call your attention to Pittsfield Massachusetss. While the economy is struggling here and has been for 20 years the health care is top rated. I am a physician here and join the health system 2 years ago. I came because it is the model of how I think health care should run. I do not worry about making money, or overhead, or what kind of insurance my patient's have. I take care of the people of Berkshire county blindly. The health care system pays me well and my salary is not dependent on the... (more)

I have been laid off for the second time now since Feb. I have insurance through Cobra, and thankfully Mr President, your new law has helped tremendously because my ex-employer pays 65% of that premium. Now I have an additional discount through Medical Securities, a Massachusetts program, so it is manageable but for those that do not have these options, the stress is unbearable! I have had enough stress, trying to plow through all of the paperwork and the waiting was awful BUT at least I knew that in the end, I'd be covered. I can imagine... (more)