My daughter was diagnosed with mild/moderate autism in 2007. Luckily, as U.S. citizens, we (my daughter, husband and I) were living as temporary workers and guests in Canada and so were covered under the fabulous single-payer healthcare they have there. For a premium of $108/month with no co-pays or other costs, my daughter received a diagnosis from an expert team of doctors and $20,000 per year in funding for autism therapy. That's right-- $20,000 per year for kids under age 8 with autism and a bit less for older kids with autism (up to age... (more)

I am in good health and I have health, vision, and dental insurance; my husband is able to receive excellent total health care as a disabled veteran; however, I know of many people who are suffering because their health care costs are too high, health care providers choices are limited, and they are not able to receive quality health care. I also know people who are working and simply do not go to the doctor because of the cost; they get only a portion of their prescriptions filled, or skip the medications to make the prescription last... (more)

I have two friends, both who have been productive members of American society. Both have cancer. In one case, my friend's doctor, who has treated him for 16 years for leukemia, was dropped by his physician, who now refuses to release his medical records until his bill is paid. Other doctors will not take his case absent the medical records. My other friend, an attorney with stage four breast cancer, was let go by her law firm and is now insured temporarily by COBRA. She has put her home up for sale, and may be forced to return to her... (more)

I live in Mississippi, where I have been involved in Katrina recovery since the storm hit. I have encountered many people who were not insured or not insured enough in my dealings with trying to get people's lives back in order. Many people were faced with the choice of having health insurance or homeowners insurance. They could not afford both. Many small business people had no way of covering their families and employees and still pay for business related insurance. This is a serious problem for the poor, even the middle class, and... (more)

My son can not find a job with health care coverage... a college honors graduate... going back to graduate school in order to get coverage through university. This is not a "major" story but one that can be told millions of times across America. There is also limited health care facilities/doctors three years after Hurricane Katrina.

I am a social worker and seeing the constant level of unnecessary stress and lack of care for so many working poor people and others is distressing. Their only option is the emergency room where they cannot be turned away. Doctors will not see uninsured people who cannot come up with the cash. People who have to pay for their own coverage, middle class healthy people are paying $400 - $800 a month with huge deductibles. The bankruptcy rate is alarming. Everyone deserves access to decent healthcare. Every other industrialized country from... (more)

I'm 65 and a retired nurse anesthetist. I don't know what the answer is. Hospital care is so different for what it was in 1964 when I started, it is almost unrecognizable. Back then MOST of the employees were directly or indirectly involved in patient care. Today the system is bloated with workers whose only function is to read and interpret all the rules which must be followed in order for the hospital to keep it's accreditation so it can continue to get government money. We are now at a point where we are paying this bureaucracy almost... (more)

we need universal health care now! my son and i have not seen a regular doctor or a dentist in over 15 years , i have worked since i was 10 and and cannot afford health care when i did have health care i couldnt afford the deductable.we lost every thing in Katrina the area was bad befor but now its harder. i am a cosmetologist and my son is in college - we go to the emergency room if we realy need a doctor and pay the bill when we can. please help us universal health care works in other places why cant it work for us !my father has ins and... (more)

My wife is in the hospital, Memorial, Gulfport, MS, with terminal cancer. An MRI was taken on March 9, 09 for a back problem. The MRI showed a silver dollar size tumor, which was not made aware to us. My wife had uterine cancer, that she beat, in 07. May 16 another MRI was done and now the tumor is 16cm, the size of a large melon. I asked why, when the tumor was viewed on March 9, that we were not made aware of the tumor and we were told they felt it was insegnifacant. I asked one of her doctors if they had found the tumor when it was... (more)

I AM 84, I AM RETIRED FROM THE US MARINE CORPS AND ALSO FROM CIVILIAN EMPLOYMENT. MY WIFE AND I DEPEND ON MEDICARE AND TRY CARE FOR LIFE. WE HAVE EIGHT MARRIED CHILDREN NUMEREOUS GRAND CHILDREN AND GEAT GRANDCHILDREN WHJO FACE A CRISIS WHEN IT COMES TO MEDICAL CARE. WE NEED TOP FIX IT SO THAT THEY CAN AFFORD MEDICAL CARE WHEN THEY ARE UNFORTUNATE TO NEED IT. GET IT FIXED PLEASE

I don't have a story, but I do know Health care need to be affordable for everyone.

I have 2 daughters w/out health care, even though both work FT. One suffered for SEVEN years w/Psoriasis before finding help and now has painful Psoriatic Arthritis. She finds pain medication wherever she can. The other suffered w/nerve pain in her shoulder for ONE FULL YEAR before she was finally able to find some affordable relief. Both daughters still have no heathcare coverage. PLEASE: we NEED health care coverage for ALL.

I am a registered nurse. I work in an emergency room of a small rural hospital. I take care of both wealthy patients and poor patients as well as those in between. Some have insurance, medicare, or medicaid. Most have no insurance or money. We take care of all patients regardless of their economic status or ability to pay if the physician deems the patient's condition to be an emergency. Many people with toothaches, respiratory infections and some chronic conditions are turned away because they are not "emergencies". People who... (more)

My daughter is a contributing member of society. She was unable to get healthcare because she did not make enough to afford health care. I find this to be utterly insane. As a person who has contributed all of my adult life as an educator, I am still finding it difficult to get adequate coverage. I am also finding it difficult to repay the student loan I received for getting my Ed.D. I worked in education for over 27 years, giving all I had to give. Most often buying supplies out of my pocket to suppor my classroom program. I am unable to... (more)

As a grandparent of a child who has lost her job presently and can not qualify for assistance it saddens me to know that a country as powerful as ours can not help children and families when and where it is most needed. There should be assistance to help ALL, but especially those who can not help themselves, the elderly and the children. Let's make a plan to assist and help - if we can bailout those who have funds, why not those who have nothing.

I found out that I was infected with HIV in 1988. I have needed tens-of-thousands of dollars in medical care, and it has been a struggle just to stay healthy, spiritually and physically. Most of my adult life (since 1988, at age 24), I have been treated like a second-class citizen because of my HIV status, and that I am "un-insurable". Once I was in a car accident and told the attending Nurse that I had HIV. No one would clean my cuts and scrapes. When I got home, I still had dirt in my lacerations!

I want to be able to see my physician; receive a diagnosis; go to the facility and receive the required tests and not fret over the bills I receive because my health insurer would not pay that bill because the company was not a part of their network. I want to be able to go to an ER for an emergency and not worry about being billed. Because my insurance carrier does not pay for contracted ER physicians.

I was scheduled for a periodic test. My insurance company said that they would cover the cost of the test if it indicated nothing was wrong, but if the test indicated that there was a problem, they would not cover the cost. My insurance company is still disputing costs from visits to the doctor months ago. I receive two notifications from insurance company instead of one. I received a bill for $65 and after investigating, the insurance company owed me $90.00.

Eff Jan, 2009, My doctor, Stanford Owen of Gulfport, MS, changed the way he delivers health care--and the price is so low that it is unbelievable to me how this can work to his benefit. However,prior to iniation of this program, he told me that he would actually make MORE money if only (I forget--10%? 25%?--a very low %) of his current patients agreed to this new plan. Dr. Owen no longer takes health insurance. Instead, he charges $300+ a year for ALL of his services--office visits, vacinations, checkups, CBC, carotid artery scan, his... (more)

Eff Jan, 2009, My doctor, Stanford Owen of Gulfport, MS, changed the way he delivers health care--and the price is so low that it is unbelievable to me how this can work to his benefit. However,prior to iniation of this program, he told me that he would actually make MORE money if only (I forget--10%? 25%?--a very low %) of his current patients agreed to this new plan. Dr. Owen no longer takes health insurance. Instead, he charges $300+ a year for ALL of his services--office visits, vacinations, checkups, CBC, carotid artery scan, his... (more)