My daughter is a bright and talented young woman who suffers from bipolar syndrome. She is functioning well under treatment, but is on a very expensive COBRA plan (she now works as a contractor for her former employer; she resigned during her last depressive episode). Like so many others, our daughter would benefit enormously from a public health insurance option. Post-COBRA coverage is EVEN more expensive than COBRA, with very few choices. Of course we hope our daughter will have employer-based insurance by then, but I do not believe that we... (more)

I do not think my personal health care history offers any special insight into our national dilemma. I do think my experience with the French system and with Kaiser in California give me an understanding of what is possible. Perhaps the public will be asked for judgment and advice at a later stage. On second thought, there is one incident: My wife hit a pole with her car and spent one night in the Stanford Hospital for scans and observation. No organ injury or broken bones. The bill was 53 thousand dollars! After 7 months of... (more)

As a small business owner, we pay for our employees health care. Some of the wives of our employees are not covered as those employees cannot afford the costs. Those individuals are then without coverage and must resort to hospital emergency rooms for care. COSTS ARE TOO HIGH

My brother Leukemia had reached stage two because his insurance company wouldn't authorize the proper tests to find out why he was itching. When he came out to visit me in California, I insisted he go to the emergency room at Stanford University. They immediately that he had leukemia and it had evolved into stage two. His insurance company would not cover his treatment at Stanford because it was out of network hospital. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT!!!! Because of his treatment, my brother couldn't work as a Real Estate developer so not only could he... (more)

Our family recent endured the loss of a vibrant, loving 29 year old mother, of an 18 month old child, to cancer. The associated costs shattered a once devoted couple and added to their misery. The two year spiral was horrific to observe and I can not imagine the pain and suffering occupied their hourly existence. I likewise can not imagine how much of this weight would have been alleviated IF a better health care system were available to them. A child without a mother, a husband without his soulmate and an enormous debt to satisfy. I'm certain... (more)

I recently sold my business and as a result, I no longer had employment or health care. I have sufficient resources, a graduate education and a very good health so I assumed getting health coverage would be relatively easy. I won't go into the details, but the process of getting and keeping decent health insurance was extremely difficult. The coverage I have is acceptable, but doesn't encourage me to be pro-active about my care, doesn't reward me for making good health choices and doesn't encourage me to be honest about my health care... (more)

There is an essential piece missing from your three principles: WE MUST HAVE A PUBLIC PLAN TO COMPETE WITH THE PRIVATE PLANS. OTHERWISE, IT'IS A WASTE OF TIME!

As a consultant, I found I had to pay astronomical prices for individual plans for health insurance. Now that I'm retired, I pay a small fortune every month.

I am very lucky to have good health coverage at this time, but everyday I see and read stories about people who do not. My hours have been cut back and I took a pay cut this year at my job and many family and friends of mine have been laid off. If I were to lose my job I would become one of the millions who would not have health insurance for me nor my family. My employer know this and they tell me that it is a "perk" of keeping my job. Health coverage should not be a "perk", but it should be and needs to become a right... (more)

I have children who have graduated from college and have not found full-time employement so therefore do not have health coverage. Paying for health care on part-time wages is almost impossible. Luckily our children have parents who can help cover these costs. What about those children whose families can't help?

We should follow the German example: private insurance companies but negotiated set rates. Insurance should be portable -- one should not find oneself losing coverage because they leave their job (voluntarily or involuntarily)

It was a shock to learn that I had breast cancer six years ago, but I had the two surgeries and then the 35 radiation treatments and then took tamoxofen as required. Our insurance covered good proportions of those procedures. But when it came time to renew our policies, I was told that I would have to settle for an HMO, whereas my husband and daughter could have the nicer PPO programs. When I reached my 5 -year survivor anniversary I called up to renegotiate my policy. "Oh, no" the woman said. "You won't be eligible to... (more)

We are fortunate to have an excellent health care policy because my husband worked for the government (USGS) for 30 years before he retired. Our children and grandchildren are not so fortunate. Many employers do not provide group health coverage today. When our son aged out of our insurance coverage years ago, the individual policy (Blue Cross) would not cover him at all for allergies. One of my granddaughters has aged off her father's group plan and she has not been able to get individual coverage. My other granddaughter still is on her... (more)

I volunteer with a women's philanthropic organization which helps provide medical help to women in need. It is shocking to see how many people have no health insurance and how long they wait until they get help...and sometimes it's too late. In the U.S. it seems to me that ALL citizens deserve the very best health care in the world. We need to fix this now.

Six-years ago I was diagnosed with Lupus, a painful connective tissue disorder where your body actually attacks itself. I've been incredibly lucky in being able to control the progression of the disease. Currently I take 400mg of Plaquenil (an anti-malaria drug) as well as an additional 500mg of Aleve daily to help control the inflamation, and subsequent pain, caused by the Lupus. I also am required bi-annually to a full blood pannel work-up to make sure my internal counts and workings are all still in the normal range. While the... (more)

Very close friends went through all of their assets attempting to seek a cure for the wife's cancer. They paid out over one million dollars, attempting to seek a cure of her throat cancer. After two years of seeking a cure, including travel to Japan, Canada and Mexico, she died, and her husband was broke. My wife's recent experience with a badly fractured right shoulder, we found that our HMO insurance company, Pacific Care, refused to authorize physical therapy, that the Doctor prescribed and said was essential to her recovery. Some clerk... (more)

The only way to reduce health care costs is to improve health. The vast majority of health care expenses are the consequence of one thing: being too fat. You can re-arrange the deck chairs( what is covered, who pays, etc) all you want -- but unless you attack the real cause of health care expense, the US will never solve the problem. The President needs to make sure that some set of incentives and penalties are imposed on those whose life style choices impact the costs. We do it for smokers - why not obesity?

Keeping children healthy should be a priority, as well as looking after pregnant women. A good start in life will make sure the children will trust themselves and succeed instead of being a burden on society.

My husband was an executive at 5 companies and always had healthcare insurance. I have been a consultant to venture capitalists, high tech start-ups and other emerging businesses. Then my husband decided to also be a consultant. Once the COBRA ran out we have been trying to secure Healthcare but have been denied due to "pre-existing" issues. We are finding it impossible to go from a group to an individual program.

She said her name was "Nemesis"---the lady who last denied PET scan coverage when I called my health insurance co. last summer. My surgeon prescribed a PET scan to locate lesions before my second surgery for metastatic ovarian cancer. Two of my doctors had already appealed the initial 2 denials. (2 PET scans 1 1/2 years before had been approved and were effectively used in the first surgery.) 3 days before my surgery we drove 250 miles to another PET scan facility for a scan, promising to pay for the scan if the insurance didn't... (more)