We have health insurance which costs us a fortune for a family of 3 as it is. The copays are enormous and same with RX drugs. Somebody needs to do something soon. My brother in law who is on medicare spends 1/2 his check on his RX medicines, it makes you want to check out before you get to retirement age.... nobody cares about us that are getting older. pls help!!

I was a college professor. A single mom with three adopted children lived with me. She became disabled and the children were eligible for medicaid (MediCal). In 2000 she died when they were ages 11, 7 and 6. Since the children lived with me I was permitted to adopt them so their lives could remain stable. They were eligible for adoption assistance and MediCal. When I retired they were also eligible for social security. The 19 year old no longer has adoption assistance, no social security, and no health insurance as he is not a full... (more)

A friend of mine is a stay-at-home mom. Now that she is divorced, she has no health coverage at all. She has no money to pay for COBRA after she pays all the other bills, and that only lasts for 18 months anyway. She is having trouble finding a job after being out of work for nearly 20 years.

A close friend of mine had to take her son to the hospital for assistance. Since she was not working full time, she did not have the means to pay for the health insurance. To this day, she is still paying off the debts from that one visit. Access to affordable healthcare is a right that all 1st world countries should have. Whatever health care providers give as an excuse against universal health care is only there to protect their balance sheets and not for the good of our country. Thank you.

My wife took a fall from a horse while uninsured. After surgery to repair a broken wrist, 3 broken eye-bones, cracked ribs, severely bruised knee, $250 in prescriptions, and several $1,000s in medical bills, we are struggling to make ends meet. Not to mention the fact that she is not working as much as she used to and I am working as much as possible, further complicating a stressful situation. The reason we were without health care is that we were covered under her employers medical insurance when I left to work independently, she... (more)

As a not for profit educational ministry, we provide medical care coverage to our staff...and our premium costs continue to rise to a place where we can barely afford to provide it. We need to have adequate coverage for our young and health staff, at a reasonable cost, with choices unlike Canada or Australia. I hope something can be done to help the small business person continue to attract quality workers by providing benefits that work.

During my career I was a Nationa Vice President of the American Cancer Society. We held nation-wide forums at which we met numerous individuals who were dying because they couldn't afford health care. We heard the most tragic stories. And nothing has changed. You are the only hope for millions of people who will suffer and die without some kind of health care.

I have suffered from epilepsy since I was three. While I do not suffer on the level of someone like Lauren Axelrod; financially, it has still been a problem. Insurance wasn't an issue until I was no longer allowed to be on my parents' plan, which was when I turned 25. Since then, I have been on the COBRA plan, which currently costs my parents approximately over $6,500 a year for both health care and medicinal costs. Of course there are always extra bills for procedures such as MRIs, EEGs, and checkups because the insurance only covers 80%. ... (more)

I work in the health care industry doing collections for providers of services. What the insurance companies are doing is criminal. I am most upset about Medicare. When I call about a bill that has not been paid correctly, "I AM SPEAKING TO SOMEONE IN INDIA". Our government is allowing this to happen?? The Medicare Advantage programs and medicare contractors are ripping the government and the american people off. Medicare sets rules - these contractors deny coverage because they claim they can. They do not have to follow... (more)

I am a retired nurse who has had an opprotunity in various health disciplines in a number of states as a navy wife. I can safely say that my experiences helped me define my nursing professionalism. Now that I'm retired, I find myself requiring

I was in an accident in 2003 where fortunately I had healthcare, an HMO. After my accident my husband decided to divorce me and I had medical issues that I needed to take care of before I was able to leave. I lived with a man telling me he understood how people kill their spouses and many other veiled threats for nearly two years before I was able to get all medical issues resolved and move. I obtained employment with a huge retailer, SEARS, and initially paid for their "insurance" where you pay monthly but there are many things not... (more)

My husband, a minister, who is considered self-employed, even though he's a church pastor, was on a mission project in Tecate, Mexico, building a house for a poor family. He was helping to carry a wall when he suddenly lost his balance and fell down an embankment, shattering his left wrist and breaking his right humerus. Others in the project took him back across the border into Poway, CA, where hospital officials debated for literally hours about liability -- was it a work-related injury, should it be charged against Medicare, his... (more)

I am a member of Kaiser Permanente in San Diego and think that kind of health care delivery is very good. I have had a Pulmonary embolism, stroke, and lymphoma. They have taken care me and I only pay visit copay and medicine copay. If it wasn't for this coverage I would have been bankruptand/or dead.

The ONLY reason why I am able to be a Stay-At-Home Mom is because my children and I have health insurance covered under my husband's employer. If not for this, I would have to go back to work and lose my "priceless" moments with my rapidly growing 2 year old daughter and 14 year old son because I could not afford the risk of having my children get sick and not be able to afford medical attention for them. I know I have been truly blessed with a happy healthy family; however, what happens if my husband loses his job? We are not a... (more)

We currently do not have health insurance, my wife had to see two doctors over the last month and it cost us $4500.00 dollars, just to see the doctors and buy the recommended medicine. WE had to pay with our credit cards. If we did not have good credit I am not sure what would have happened.

This is, or was at least, the richest nation in the world. Every citizen has a right to health care. We are the most ingenious and creative people in the world. We can come up with a plan that will not be like Canada and Britain where people die waiting for treatment. We can do better.

I am a 74 years old, I have Medicare and Secure Horizons that cost me almost $200 a month in premiums. I then have $25 & $10 co-pays for doctors & co-pays for medical procedures + medications . It takes a big chunck of my SS to pay for these health care. It would be nice if it would cost less. Armida Franceschini

My wife and I are full time civil service workers, as a teacher and RN. We've recently lost all our retirement equity which we had built up in our home real estate ownership. Having only a few years left before retirement, we will have to face the high costs of health insurance with minimum help from either of our retirement programs; a reduction in social security benefits due to the incredulous Windfall Elimination Provision Act ( repeal it!); and most likely have to cutback on healthcare maintanence programs in order to cover other rising... (more)

A few months ago, I was walking back from my child’s school and entered my car. My Lincoln car has very heavy doors that tend to swing back in ones face when opened. As I opened the door to enter my car, I held my hand out to stop it from coming back, but I was too late. The sharp corners of the door ripped through my skin, right under my eyeballs. It punctured my face very bad, and I was screaming in intense pain, clenching my eye. I was able to drive to the ER, but when I got there, they refused to treat me since I had no insurance at all.... (more)

When I was a child my parents did not have health insurance. I was a very active and generally healthy child, but I had many allergies and my general playtime physical activities resulted in scrapes, bruises, and a few more broken bones than most others my age. Because my parents were fairly low-income and had no insurance, it was rare that I went to a doctor. Instead of healing through medicine, my body healed naturally. I learned how to take care of my wounds and apply field dressings when I crashed on my bicycle a couple of miles away... (more)