My grandmother in-law has problem with her knees. She is 74. She has basic health insurance through the government. her doctor says she needs injections but they are not covered by her insurance. If the doctor says she needs them why does the insurance say she does not. Who is the doctor?

America should look to our neighbors to the north and see what they have done with there health care system! I experienced first hand Canada's Universal health care system last summer. I was in a serious boating accident last summer on the St. Lawrence River about 45 minutes outside of Montreal. I broke my L1 vertebra and had to have major back surgery at the Montreal General Hospital. I have to say their system and service was top of the line. I have health insurance but it was quite a hassle trying to get someone on the line that knew how to... (more)

MY SON HAD A KIDNEY TRANSPLANT FOUR YEARS AGO AT jOHNS HOPKINS . hE WORKS FOR nATIONWIDE INSURANCE AND WILL KNOW IN jUNE if he will be laid off .I know there is cobra,but with a large house payment money will be tight and a national health plan it would be great to know that he could still be able to get his prescriptions. we have friends in Great Britain and when I ask them bout their National health coverage , they say it's the best in the world and the conservative party did every thing they could to bankrupt it.

Due to degenerative arthritis, my husband is in constant pain, which has progressively affected the majority of his joints. His mobility is becoming more difficult, but I, a teacher, must continue to work to ensure our health care is covered. If I retire, a larger percent must be paid in order to continue coverage, which would be deducted from a decreased salary to begin with. We must ensure coverage is available when it is needed.

I've already claimed bankrupcy once due to health care in 2000 and I had health insurance at the time but the 20% I was responsible for was overwhelming. It's now 9 years later, I have health insurance but am in collections right now with our hospital. Credit card limits have been dropped and I cannot afford my medication. I am self employed have been able to keep one employee who needs health insurance and I cant pay her more nor can I afford insurance for. I am BEGGING, please help us! Paula Casagrande Havre de Grace, MD

In 2002, I left the US Army after 7 years of service. During my last few months of service I suffered Kidney failure and spent several months returning to full health. Although my current employer offers benefits, I have been denied coverage in the past. The VA also denied my request for coverage. I was laid off last year, and coverage under COBRA and private insurance was too costly to pursue. With the current economic conditions, I worry about my ability to get affordable coverage in case I lose my job again. I don't believe that other... (more)

My former husband was injured in a hunting accident. He had 21 perforations in his intestines and stomach and spent 10 days in a shock drama unit. At the time he had no health insurance because of costs, it was not an option at the time. The doctors said he would have to have a colostomy for a year. He was assured it would be reversable. In the interiem, he enrolled in a HMO. Because of his insurance, we were "assigned" to doctors, who were not qualified to address his special needs. After 4 failed surgeries to reverse his... (more)

I am a registered voter. In Oct. 2005 I became disabled and was awarded Social Security Disability. At first I recieved Medicaid for 4 months. After that I had no insurance until I had a Heart Attack in 2006. I was 53 yrs old. I blame that Heart Attack on the healthcare or lack of healthcare/causing stress on the "system". Thank God the Heart Attack and transport by helicopter to a Hospital in Baltimore to have stents put in my coronary artery qualified me for more Medicaid for another 4 months!! Eventually I got Medicare, but, it... (more)

In summary...During 4 years of unemployment due to a car accident in middle age, with 2 kids in college, our family faced the outrageous cost of health insurance premiums for "family coverage", NO coverage for "pre-existing conditions" when COBRA runs out or insurance is not available through employer and limitations of choice and coverage when providers are "out of network". Health insurance troubles were an added moral breaker and debt maker for our family during a very difficult time! Also, my 60 yr old brother... (more)

I am fortunate to have been married to someone with a good income and good benefits for the last 23 years; had this not been the case I could easily be deep in both pain and poverty. At approximately age 28, I developed Rheumatoid Arthritis, and have had to remain on various therapies for the last 19 years. I later developed a thyroid imbalance, which also requires daily medication. Further, I was struck with a rare neuromuscular disease nearly 10 years ago, for which I am fortunate enough to participate in a clinical trial at the Mayo... (more)

My husband has an illness call Chronic Lypocetic Cancer. The doctors assure us that this disease is not life threatening. However, the costs of the medicines are extremely high and definitely a strain on our budget. Especially, now that my job has been cut and I will be unemployed on June 30. Our biggest complaint about the health care system is the fact that the insurance companies never seem to pay much of the bill. It is very disheatening to note when my husband has health insurance and so do I and we are always paying more for the... (more)

I know of many people (friends and family) who have skipped out on prescription drugs that they really need in order to survive. However, they put off picking them up because one medication costs $100, not to mention the expense it was to go to the doctor's in the first place. It is just a downward spiral. These people know their diagnosis, but cannot afford to treat it, and prioritize their lives in that order. They need to feed their family, and keep their electric on. They do not want to worry about paying for healthcare that is so... (more)

I am a retired Foreign Servioce Officer. I have excellent healthcare. My mother, however, does not. She has diabities and goes to Dialysis three times a week. She pays about $300 for medicines and gets a little over $600.00 from social security. My 401k is now a 101k, so it is difficult to support her like I use to. Even wiht my own excellent plan, the cost of glasses and dental work is very expensive. If we don't fix this problem, those of us who have good plans and pay the most into the system through our helathcare carriers, will... (more)

I'm a public employee. This year, I am faced with a 50% increase in the cost of my health care. This is on top of a pay cut (proposed 8%) and a tax increase. The further I go, the farther behind I get. We need federal health care guarantees to protect us from the drug companies, insurance companies and others who would deny care and/or insurance coverage.

I am a 30 year old female with type with diabetes. I have had the disease since I was 18. In the time since then I have had times when I did not have insurance, such as now that I do not have the care that I should. i had a job making $11.00 an hour and it was to much many to recieve health care from the state, although since my job was through a temporary service I did not have insurance. I was not able to pay the $155.00 it cost to even walk into the doctor's office. Luckily you do not need a prescription to purchase insulin, so I... (more)

We are the richest nation in the world financially but the poorest morally. Providing health care to all people helps to insure that the person(s) discovering the cure for cancer lives through their childhood, that the juvenile delinquent doesn't become a delinquent because his mother was allowed to live with proper health care, and that the next music, art, scientific, math genius lives to share their gift because they were afforded health care. And how much more expensive is it to care for our forgotten results of a poor health care system... (more)

I am a registered nurse and I see the impact of the current economy on my patients daily. My husband and I are in our late 50's, had planned to retire within 10 years, but with the loss of our retirement funds we are unable to make any changes in our lives because we are at the mercy of maintaining ou

I support President Obama's principle requirements for real health care reform, especially the guaranteed choice component. My husband, John Moyle, was born in Wilmington,Delaware, graduated from Salesianum and the University of Delaware (BS1970;MS1976) and was a public school educator in Delaware for more than 30 years. He loved being a teacher and administrator and I saw him work so hard to enrich the lives of his students and co-workers. As a retiree, his health care insurance,and mine,is supplemented by the state government of Delaware. ... (more)

Think this can't happen to you? Think again. First, you lose your job through no fault of your own which is your only source of income. Within a couple months you become ill but you can't afford diagnostics and doctors won't see you anyway without insurance. This is fact. I could have borrowed any amount of money I needed to get treatment but I was turned away simply because I didn't have insurance. After several months I was eventually diagnosed with cancer and told I needed surgery asap. But I was still denied treatment because I didn't have... (more)

As a 35 year old sufferer from Athletic Pubalgia, a condition that very few insurance carriers will cover, I have to put my life on hold. This condition has the effects of growing progressively worse and causing progressively more complications as time goes on untreated. This condition is COMPLETELY CURABLE; however, most insurance carriers call its treatment "experimental", i.e. Aetna in my case, dispute sound meical evidence to the contrary. Now one of the millions of unemployed individuals I wish that I could get help so that... (more)