I am 26 years old and a self-employed person in Lewiston, Maine. My income is sufficient to meet my very basic needs, and I do have health insurance, though it takes up quite a large portion of my income. Roughly 30% of my income goes to cover my health insurance and another 32% for my rent. That doesn't leave much more room for food, utilities, and transportation when my income is only $10,000/yr. Even though I am young and healthy, I think paying into the health insurance system is a responsibility, and I think having health insurance is a... (more)

I've had to do without food at times to pay for meds

I do not support any plan short oh HR676. I really feel Obama has sold me out. SUPPORT SINGLE PAYER. DON'T LEAVE THE FOX IN THE CHICKEN COOP

I am a 48 year old single man who is also a small business owner. I have not been able to afford health insurance now for about 5 years. I am lucky so far to have lead a healthy life. I do however always worry about the fact that my family history has heart desease and cancer in it. I live in the state of Maine which only has limited choice in health care providers and those have such hight premiums that you can't afford to live and you can't afford to be sick. It's a shame that we live in the greatest country in the world but we have the... (more)

The cost involved in the health care industry is completely over the top. We waste the time of valuable men and women in the bureaucratic money pit that is health care. Companies should not be allowed to make obscene amounts of money on the backs of unwell citizens.

the price of doctors and dentists is out of sight and way too high, dentists in particular,i need a top plate and i cannot afford one

As Medicare Part D Implementation Specialist and Medicare Part D Appeals Specialist I have seen first hand the effects of the Bush administration privatization tactics. This was a great policy for the upper middle class Medicare population who did not qualify for Medicaid and cannot afford to pay for prescriptions out of pocket but caused an enormous amount of public stress and wasted time through convaluded regulation and poor implementation strategy planning on the behalf of the federal government. all to make, already rich, Insurance and... (more)

I have been actively involved in creating intergrated healthcare systems for the last 30 years. Accountable healthcare systems that are repsonsible for a population of patients rather than treating individual incidents of disease will achieve true transformational change in the delivery of healthcare. It is not a question of health care cost are too high. This is driven by the current reimbursement system that rewards duplication of services, discourages coordination of care and discourage meaningful health maintance. It is not a question of... (more)

I haven't had health coverage for about two years now. I live at home with my parents but I pay rent, and the cost of food. I've been living off of a full time pay check without health insurance. It costs me $145 everytime I go to the doctors office, and it also costs me about $75 for my monthly prescriptions. I've always been rather sickly growing up. How am I to afford anything else? Especially when my paycheck is already going to rent, food, and other utilities.

My mom has terminal cancer so I had to stop working in order to take care of her. I am a 56 yr old female and have no way of getting health insurance and have not been able to see a Dr in the last 3 years and have health concerns myself.

We are being told AGAIN that our health care costs will be rising for our next contract. We can have deductibles raised to $2,500-$5,000 to help compensate for that, in addition to only having to pay a LITTLE more per paycheck!?! We are NOT receiving a pay raise, so how do we manage this increase in health care costs? Hoping that we don't need to use is because we would need a loan to pay the deductible! Please support health care reform. This country needs to continue on our positive growth track! Thank You! Karen White

I have been lucky. I'm young, active, eat well, and haven't had the misfortune of any major injuries requiring surgery/ hospitalization, or required mental health care. But many of the people I love and care for the most HAVE had to face these financial costs-and it has been at great emotional cost as well, which has often only compounded their problems. For ten years I lived overseas in various countries with socialized health care. Are these systems perfect? No. But they are more equitable, and the WHO study in 2000 reported that the... (more)

although I have health through my employer it really is not that good the price is not that much but health care needs to be better then what it is

I'm on SS retirement and as such have little money. Last year I had surgery for two diferent types of cancers and am now drowning in debt to various members of the medical community. This brings with it a lot of stress- not the restful retirement I had envisioned. With so many greedy folks running corporations and receiving obscene amounts of money whether they do a good job or poor, it's aggravating that the rest of us have to do without basic needs so that those crooks can have eighteen cars and- how many houses does McCain have? Even he... (more)

Dear President Obama, please read my true health care story. Im 52 years old and back when HMO'S first started out, I for one got caught up in the private (hmo) insurance nightmare. I was often denied good health care and sent home without proper testing. I remember many times I was so sick, I could not stand the pain any longer. I sometimes would cry out loud as a result of pain. This went on for many years. This while in an HMO network or I had no insurance due to it being canceled as a result of some other "pre exsisting"... (more)

I am trying to support myself at 60 years old by working 30 hrs a week but being cosidered Part-Time I have no Health Care coverage or any other Benefits! It is scarry since I have to drive close to 20 miles to work; I can not afford to have an accident or be sick!!

I've been providing care in Maine since 1978 and have seen scores of patients struggle to afford health care, many without access to good insurance. I've been paid in cord wood and potatoes by some and not been paid by some. The toll on people in these circumstances is terrible and has often limited their medical options, to the detriment of their health.

I went many years without coverage hoping to never get injured or sick. Luckily I never did. Now inured through my company I watch my contributions go up every year along with my deductible. We need to do something, and that something needs to include SINGLE PAYER. Dont back down and let that important piece get left in the dust. Insurers and pharmaceutical have made Billions off the backs of the middle class for decades. Stand up for us Mr. President and get this importand bit into your legislation. Thanks you.

My husband receives SSDI and has Medicare coverage, but myself and my 20 year old daughter do not have any health care coverage because we can not afford any. The premiums are completely out of our price range, so we either have to forgo doctors visits or try to qualify for our local free care programs. Affordable healthcare is desperately needed in this country. Please vote for healthcare reform now. Thank you

I am the director of a community cancer center in rural Maine. All too often I see many patients suffering this terrible disease who have no insurance or are underinsured and can't afford the care they need to fight the disease. Cancer treatment is expensive and options are too few for many patients. My hope is that the long anticipated health care reform initiative will help alleviate this huge burdon on people when they need our help the most. Thank you! Jeffrey O. Hazel, MBA, FACMPE Director, Oncology Services Central Maine Medical... (more)