For a family of 5 we had a policy that rose 20-30 pc per year minimum until it reached $30,000 per year. there was no end in sight of the increases so in three years at 20 pc increases it would be almost $52,000 per year. The policy started about 5 years ago at about $12,000. No major claims were ever submitted, the deductible was $3000 per year and the rates kept rising.

My husband recently died of a rare disease and our medical bills were astronomical, not to mention the torture of dealing with the insurance companies begging and pleading for coverage. Something has to be done to. We live in the greatest nation in the world and our health care is pathetic.

We used to have insurance through my husband's job and we were always arguing with them. We had endless discussions about coverage and it was a total pain in the neck, and very time consuming. We got the impression that only people who made a lot of noise got coverage.

As I reach retirement age I wonder how I will replace the insurance I have through my work that permits me and my family to seek the care we need. My children are grown and will not have health insurance with their work for some time to come. My son had his tonsils out just before Christmas. Without the insurance through my work we would not have been able to pay for this emergency care and surgery.

I live in the United Kingdom at the moment, where there is the National Health Service. Without this service, my husband's recent cancer treatment would likely have been too expensive; we would have been forced to consider the cost before deciding upon the best treatment available. Also, many years ago when our daughter was young, she received immediate and long-term medical care for a major kidney disorder, which could later have become life-threatening. We only paid the same National Health Insurance rate as everyone else, but we received... (more)

I'm self-employed and have to buy my own insurance. Premiums go up about 30% PER YEAR, forcing us to constantly raise our deductible. Additionally, my young son has had serious mental health issues this year that I fear will affect his ability to get coverage in the future, in addition, many of his treatments are covered minimally or not at all. We have exhausted our savings in just seven months on these expenses. I really want a public option similar to Medicare, which is what Howard Dean is working for. Please consider this.

I am a 54 year old single mother living in Jackson, Wyoming with two children in college. I am the co-owner of a small family business with my sister. My youngest, a son, is 20 years old and has Cystic Fibrosis. Our business pays our insurance premiums, (which are outrageous) and I am responsible for the co-pay as well as the co-pay on his medications which run around $5000/month. I am finding it nearly impossible to come up with the money to pay for these life-saving medications, as well as our small business is struggling to afford the... (more)

I am a lucky one with health care. I work hard and receive my benefits through my employer. Here is my experience with the health insurance company Blue Cross Blue Shield. As a healthy 28 year old, I infrequently utilize my dental and medical plans. My one claim beyond preventative services was an "Accidental Injury." I fell off my bike on my way to work after I skidded on loose gravel. I hit the pavement and knocked out my front tooth. I also sustained some abrasions on my face and lip. Accidental Injury is 100% covered under the... (more)

Pharmaceutical companies control cost of medications and that must change also.

I am an athlete living in a mountain town USA. There are a lot of us out there. I live a very healthy life as a professional athlete. My health care costs are sky rocketing. I will not be able to afford my heath care much longer. Most of my friends cannot afford health insurance at the moment. Please help our communities... support healthy living, give incentive to healthy lifestyles, and support those that have been supporting the health care industry thus far.... give us a break! And give support when needed... no denial for those in... (more)

Dear President Obama, I am a divorced mother of three with my youngest child set to attend college in the fall. Next month, I turn fifty, and my biannual health insurance premium is due. I will not be able to make that premium, and my coverage will be terminated. I am self employed and until now have been self insured. I am healthy, and each year I have a physical and mammogram. When I do need to see a doctor, the $2800 I spend each year on my coverage, gets me nothing. I must also meet a $2500 deductible, which in essence means I must... (more)

The cost of insurance is astronomical. Try comparing it to the minimum wage, or the average yearly wage of women. Let's see - should we live on the street and have insurance, or should we have a roof over our heads and gamble with our health? For many years, the only health care I can afford is to participate in a yearly blood draw. At the town's Health Fair doctors interpret the results without cost. I am 62 and several years away from Medicare. The "partially employed" workers of America - including temps and freelancers as... (more)

Does the "public option" allow us to opt-in to Medicare? Is there a premium? Will profit insurance companies be forced to compete by being regulated so they can no longer deny care or coverage?

After being on an individual health plan for 6 months the rate was raised by $60 per month to $410. At the time of the increase I was given the choice to raise the deductible on the plan for less money. My deductible is already $2500. Meanwhile my wages haven't increased. I am an acupuncturist and believe people need choices in managing their own health care. Thus far I have been able to continue to offer affordable health care without raising rates. I'm doing this by supplementing my income by using my retirement money to live on and... (more)

I change jobs often, I want health care that is independent of my current employer. Our system was built for a different age, when people worked at the same place for 20, 30, or 40 years. We need a system that provides continuity for people like me.

Health care for every American is essential. It is necessary to rebuild our country. Health care for all is an investment in our families and friends. It should be preventive instead reactionary. When I was 15 my parents found themselves in a financially stressed situation. As self-employed ministers they did not have insurance for themselves or me. The church did not provide this for my parents. As a result we did not get regular medical check-ups. I have heard people say that families or people who do not get regular medical care... (more)

I do not have a personal health care story I would like to share, but I do have an opinion on health care insurance providing better coverage for preventive care. Currently my plan offers $150 annually for preventive care which falls far short of the $150-$200 annual OB-GYN check-up, the $300 mammogram, the cost of vaccines, etc. For those of us looking to lead a healthy lifestyle, it seems that our health insurance providers prefer to wait until we fall ill which typically generates higher health care costs. I definitely support a better... (more)

Although symptoms were apparent in 1984, the diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis wasn't feasible, due to my home town of Jackson, Wyoming's distance from the nearest M.R.I., until 1987. Due to the lack of knowledge regarding the condition, I was frightened, though, in hindsight that fear, today should be far greater, since this medieval medical science we still live with is hardly any more knowledgeable than then. The last eight years, I was hoping advances in stem cell research might give me hope,but the politics of the time prevented it. Now,... (more)

I lost a leg in a traffic accident 30 years ago and my insurance company does not want to pay for new technology that would allow me to walk better. Since blood supplies were not tested in the late seventies I picked up a case of Hepatitus C that I have had since then, I am lucky to have gone 30 years with this but it will impact my life soon enough. I have a small business with 4 employees and health care has become an impossible expense for us all. The English did it right after World War 2 and we dropped the ball big time. Health care... (more)

We are self employed so we have to purchase our own health insurance. We have to carry such a high deductable to keep the premium down, that we never meet the deductable. Also, Blue Cross became so expensive that I switched over to a program that you have to use Dr's from a list. If you don't use a Dr. from the list, only 10% goes to the deductable. Where I live is rural, so not many Dr.s are on the "list". My son has been going to a dermatologist and he is not on the "list". The only dermatologist in town. This... (more)