I'm young. I eat well. I exercise. I'm healthy. But, I have a chronic disease that manifests in persistent, quiet ways. There are the infections that I must ward off monthly. There is the sleep deprivation due to chronic pain. There is the nutritional minefield that I must navigate. There were the surgeries of years past. But none of these manifestations of the disease worry me as much as the issue of providing health insurance for me and my family. Several years ago when I was working as a freelance strategist, I was denied insurance.... (more)

I am a chiropractor in private practice. I have seen first hand how insurance companies have inserted yet another layer of bureaucracy into the mix by requiring chiropractors to belong to contracted organizations. For example: If a patient has Blue Cross PPO plan, the only chiropractors who are preferred providers must belong to another organization called American Specialty Health Plan (ASHP). ASHP handles all the chiropractic claims for Blue Cross. So Blue Cross is getting patient health care dollars, and the ASHP is also getting patient... (more)

My daughter has gone to school and worked varous jobs for twenty years without healthcare benefits or any benefits for that matter. She simply cannot afford to pay for a plan by herself so I take the money out of my budget since she would just go without. Even with a plan, she is under insured and unable to get the tests her doctor recommends. She was told it was time to get a colonoscopy but that would be $500 out of her pocket and that would be impossible. I refuse to let her be without coverage even though it is a burden on my own... (more)

I own a small business and I committed to providing health care for all employees - it is important to me and my company values.

I am a Registered Nurse and I see the effects of this expensive, cumbersome and inefficient system does not serve so many. I work with develpomentally disabled folks who depend on the Medi-Cal system. Their access to quality health care is next to non-existent. Very few M.D.s participate in the fee for service system here in CA.

I am 28 years old, working freelance and cannot afford healthcare. We need affordable options, not necessarily gov't controlled but at least regulated to make affordable options available.

My 2 adult children have no health care, Neither do my 2 grandchildren. It is a crime that we can afford to send billions to aid corporations & banks and foreign countries and yet abandon our own citizens. Obama is a big disappointment to me in that he invited insurance companies, pharmacueticals & md's to advise him. We will never get universal coverage with their input.

I work as a mental health professional and not only have seen the way the lack of quality guaranteed health insurance effects the emotional functioning in families, but also how people needing care go without and make hard choices everyday. One particular man I worked with was so despondent over his wife not getting adequate care for breast cancer, he killed himself after her likely treatable struggle and eventual death.

I am a new small business owner and need to find insurance for myself and my young child. Thank goodness I don't have any pre-existing conditions as a good friend was recently in my situation and turned down because his spouse had one bad lab report two years ago! Now if the spouse gets really sick, they'll lose their house! I am crossing my fingers that I am approved for coverage.

my brother, died january 26 2008 from the flu.,at home , because he had no health insurance, and was to proud to get help from his sisters or go the ER with no money or insurance to pay for service he died at 56 years of age- and my sister and i miss him every day.

I recently fell ill and needed a pretty common prescription to help my body recover. The cost of 10 days worth of brand name medicine was going to be over $300, and that was with the insurance reduced rate. I was appalled, but could only think of others who need medicine on an ongoing basis. $300 for 10 days worth of pills?! You must be kidding me. The profit margin is obscene.

I have Cancer and CVID and lost my health insurance when I lost my job and could not afford cobra. I am told the CVID will kill me but can't see a doctor.

I run my own business, and as such, I have been in need of individual health coverage. As I began to research, I could not find any coverage to fit my monthly budget. The only plans that remotely are within a realm of possiblity all feature very high deductables. I believe that there should be much more affordable options without extensive deductables. With today's economic environment, resonable health care options are needed now more than ever.

I am not one of those with a horror story about not having health insurance. My husband and I are County employees in Los Angeles Ca and we have Kaiser insurance, which, as far as managed care goes, is about as good as it gets. But, I have been an activist in support of single payor health care for years. I really believe that health care should be a right, afforded to all Americans, not a privilege, that is denied to those who can't affor it. I think it is unconscionable that in an enlightened society we should consider health care... (more)

Female 73. Under 1 K income a MO and MUST have Medicare and Medicaide. GOV S in California DOES NOT KNOW how to run this state and Major cut off NOW ensure for we would not vote his porkers into being.

I am one of the millions of Americans living without health insurance, however my story is often overlooked in the dialogue. Because of pre-existing health conditions, over which I had no control, I was routinely denied from every insurance carrier I applied to. The proof that our system is broken lies simply in the fact that someone like me who was offering to pay every month for coverage was denied. I cannot get insurance through work, and as a result, have been without coverage for almost a year. I am lucky that my accidents in that... (more)

I've spent the past three years with no health insurance. I lost my coverage when I turned 25, and was no longer covered under my mother's plan (she was later laid off, and no longer has health insurance herself). So far, I've been fortunate enough to not have any major injuries. Over the past 9 months, I've spent $600 on two trips to see a podiatrist for ingrown toenails. I also have a scar on one of my fingers that could have easily been avoided if I had gone to a doctor and gotten stitches - but at the time I was broke. I recently became a... (more)

I want to be able to find and use integrative physicians who know more than just drugs, radiation and surgery. I want to be able to use doctors with training in botanical/natural medicine - without them being crucified for not using synthetic drugs.

I believe in single payer health care insurance. Please, try to bring it back up to the table.

When my younger brother died, my father walked out and filed for divorce. My mother who was grieving had a heart attack and was taken to the ER. We discovered that my father had cancelled her health insurance. The admissions rep told me that my mom could not be admitted and she needed to be transferred to a county hospital. While the resident on duty in ER fought to schedule her for open heart surgery, I called the insurance company and was told that they would not reinstate her coverage as a spouse because she obviously had a... (more)