I've been desperate to find out what is the matter with me. In my 18 month search I have been sent to many doctors most of which are out of network. The costs have been mounting, the prescriptions are costly and are piling up in a recycle bag because they're worthless in helping me. Nothing has been determined after all the expense. I need more tests but I've given up because I can no longer afford the copays.

My wife and I have health plan under Cigna. Recently we discovered my wife is pregnant with our first child, we went to the doctor thinking we had coverage. To our surprise having a baby is not covered in our plan. We are in the process now of paying literally thousands in medical bills for doctors visits, testing, ultrasounds, ect. When looking for other health care options we've found that no other medical insurer would assist us because my pregnant wife has a "preexisting condition", our unborn baby is considered a... (more)

My sister, who was unemployed with no health insurance at the time, was diagnosed with breast cancer. The only way she could afford treatment was for me to call continuously at a specified time in the morning and HOPE that I would get through to get her into a protocol. Luckily I "won the lottery" and she was able to get treated. Is this the kind of country we desire for our citizens - many of whom cannot afford health care?

It's terrifying for me to ride my bicycle, drive my car, and live in

This story had a happy beginning in 1985 with the birth of our first son and we were lucky to have had Kaiser-Permanente as our medical insurance company. The happiness faded quickly not because of anything they did, but as our son encountered a series of medical problems that eventually led to his death in 1987 on the ironic date of September 11th (it was a personal day of sadness long before the Twin Towers in New York happened). Our son was hospitalized for several long periods of time in his very short life, one stint for more than a year... (more)

I am 33 and a former health care worker who has been uninsured for almost 6 years. A patient fell on me and I have a torn rotator cuff from this. The only thing I can afford is a prescription for medical cannabis ($80), and if I didn't have that my shoulder pain would have already driven me to suicide. I avoided cannabis all through high school because I wanted the best education. Now I have no job or prospects, I couldn't get hired to empty trash cans, not even for the government, so health care and ever getting past this easily fixed... (more)

Access to insurance needs to be guaranteed. There've been times in my life when I couldn't insurnace because of pre-existing conditions. And I have a friend whose insurance costs $36,000 a year (just for that individual, not for the whole family). To work, healthcare reform needs to make health insurance perform the original job of insurance, which is to spread the risks, and the costs, across a large population.

My son was put into a coma at four years old by a driver who claims he did not have time to stop on a very narrow street.. He now has TBI. If I did not have Medical insurance-I never would have been able to pay for his long hospital stay. He is now 19 years old and has graduated from High School and attends college. He struggles with his English class and anything related to reading material. SSI recently determined he was not eligible to continue receiving a check. I have asked for an appeal, because he is unable to function on his own. He... (more)

My paternal grandfather died from cancer just before World War II. My Dad helped him go from doctor to doctor and care for him, while he was working. In the end, what little money they had was exhausted. When I was a young child my Mom nearly died two years in a row due to unexpected or unusual conditions: kidney stones and hoof and mouth disease. We had no health insurance then. My parents were saddled with huge costs from Mom's hospitalization for most of the rest of their marriage and nearly lost our home. From these experiences... (more)

Dear Mr. President, I work as an occupational therapist on an acute rehab unit in San Jose, CA. Just today I had to write discharge summaries for 2 patients who could have returned home if they had sufficient funds to afford 24/7 assistance initially upon their return home. Both patients are in their 80's and easily could have returned home if they had adequate finances. One specifically stated he recently lost much money in the economic downturn and could not afford 25$/hour for home health services. Both patients have spouses in their 80's... (more)

I am retired from the Army Reserve. I am a veteran. I use the VA health care facilities in Palo Alto,California. I also have Tricare for Life. I have a friend who has lost her job. Within a few months she will no longer have health insurance. I am the lucky one who spent twenty years in the service in order to have health care. Everyone should be able to have reliable health car, not just soldiers.

I have had breast cancer and three hip surgeries. I am considered uninsurable by the insurance industry. We can only have insurance if my husband continues to have a job. In these uncertain economic times, who knows how long his job will last. Changes need to be made. Everyone in this country should have the right to have access to affordable health care.

It is very important to me that something gets done, I work for a company that does not offer any health care and does not pay me enough to get any type of insurance and enough is enough I am a single parent who is struggling to get health care for my son who is not insured at this time.

the cost of health care is too high

A little over a year ago I had open heart surgery for an aortic valve transplant, I had just turned 30 and was jobless. Lucky me (if you don't consider what I just told you ha ha) my wife has a good job at IBM and as her spouse I got the benefits too. The bill was over 100,000 dlls, we ended up paying around 8000 dlls which still is a ton of money but "more affordable". But what would have happened if I had no insurance? I was 30, just married and suddenly jobless. It wasn't my choice to be jobless, and certainly I didn't want to get... (more)

I really hope I never get sick right now because I don't have health coverage. I also don't get paid if I miss work and my family depends on my income to survive. I hear stories about people who fly to Europe or Mexico to get free health care. I can't even afford to do that so Lord help me if I ever require a hospital visit. I'm still making monthly $50.00 payments on an Emergency visit I had two years ago, that's how much it cost me out of pocket.

I am a new graduate of San Jose State University. In my athletic trainnig program, I have been witness to health care for high level competitive athletes, weekend warriors and everyday working people. Healthcare reform is needed because the current bureacracy and healthcare industry voices remain complacent with a status quo that seeks to limit choice of healthcare providers and restrict access to qualified healthcare professionals. Certified Athletic Trainers have the knowledge base, training and expertise to contribute as athletic... (more)

I am 61 years young - many think younger because of my active life. I work out regularly and enjoy other exercise type activities - gardening, walking my dogs, biking to work, etc.. But because I have a genetic disorder (scoliosis) my employer pays $834 per month for a PPO with a $40 co-pay and only partial payment of claims. I've paid an additional $500 - $800 out-of-pocket each of the past 6 months due to an emergency that was barely covered due to either a reaction to a vaccine (for shingles) or food poisoning - for 4 hours in emergency... (more)

I feel that there should be just one health care plan for all. I don't think Americans know how well this works in other countries and they hear negative stories. In fact, Medicare works well for seniors and expanding this would be logical. The insurance companies will fight change. Have we considered how to deal with them?

Both my husband and I work for a small, private practice who are unable to provide health coverage so we buy our own with high deductibles to cover our 2 small children.