It's a national shame that we cannot do anything about the cost of healthcare!!! Republicans ought to be ashamed of their support for healthcare companies that prey on hardworking Americans!!! It's an absolute joke to think that we can trust companies to help control healthcare costs, THEY ARE THE PROBLEM!!!... just look what an unregulated Wall Street gave us!!!

I have been a school teacher for over 10 years and during that time I have rarely had health insurance for myself or my too young children. The price has made it a choice between food or health care. I take as many preventive measures as possible, and pray for continued good health. Now my children have health insurance but who will care for them if something happens to me?

reduce costs: being informed, preventive healthcare, not sick care. chi kung, therapy versus drugs who silence the pain, the indicator that something is blocked. it is so simple, i guess too simple and does not cost enough! guarantee choice:educating people about their issues in order to have a base for choice. ensure quality for all: again being educated, what is available ie. science, ancient wisdom, the largest illness in my opinion are the pharmaceutical companies(incompetent knowledge, no wisdom behind it and greed). lets do it, the real... (more)

I grew up in a 6 person family. We never had health care. We had physicals at Planned Parenthood (god bless them) and had our teeth checked every few years at the community college dental school. My brother had a hernia at birth and at age 8 I broke my arm during gymnastics, both required a hospital stay. I still have no idea how my parents paid for those. Most likely, by the skin of their teeth. I am now 22. I work for an arts non-profit which, of course, cannot afford to provide me with health care. Thank God I am healthy, but I have a hole... (more)

I am a very healthy 61 year old woman. I have always had insurance through my employer and have used very little, other than maintenance checks... In January 2008, I left an employer to start my own business and was surprised to know that, because of a surgical procedure which repaired my leaky heart two years earlier, I am uninsurable as an individual. Since I am not in any employment group, I cannot get insurance that way. I do have COBRA and feel very fortunate to have that coverage...fortunate to pay $880 a month! I'm in the second... (more)

My insurance through my husband's employer is $450 a month and it only cover 80%. It takes a chunk out of our income. I had to have surgery to remove a tumor last fall and now we are in $10,000 debt!

When we first retired no doctor in our area accepted Medicare B ... so we choswe not to pay the extra premium since no one would accept it. Our health care has been much more expensive than it should have been as our insurance kicks in after we pay what Medicare B would pay. Thank goodness for Walmart that provides generic meds at reasonable prices. thank goodness we don't need any new non generic drugs .... yet. Our insurance is high because we live ina rural area ... affordable insurance like Kaiser is not available. Many folks have to... (more)

I had a minor fainting spell one night. Due to circumstances, 911 was called. I was taken to emergency for a 3 hour, efficient review of my case, and released. The bill for the ambulance - 5 miles, $1800. The 3 hour hospital visit $6000. Now, I have insurance so I'm covered. But for those that don't . . . this is INSANE. We need a single payer system that covers all Americans. I cannot believe how out of sync we are with the rest of the civilized world. The insurance companies have NO PLACE as middle-men in our healthcare system. None.

I struggle with the high deductable I have with my insurance. As a european who never had to think about costs going to the doctors office, here I have to worry if I can pay lab tests etc. I use mainly alternative health care and live a healthy life. The payments I make are mainly for emergency matters and the rates keep going up and up. I am not happy with this situation. Also being a woman I have to pay a higher rate which is unfair, it's a punishment to the female population.

I have lost two primary care doctors because the medicaid reimbursement is less than in the neighboring county. I'm not on medicaid, but our county's whole health care system is affected. In order to have guaranteed choice, I need a different insurance, as my HMO limits my choice of doctors. The only way I see that happening is through a single-payer program. I notice that so much of the medical clinic staff's time is taken up with asking about insurance coverage and related questions; it would be much less costly and much more efficient, if... (more)

I was married to a successful man who provided me with Blue Cross Insurance through his corporation and this was useful when I became ill. When we divorced, I enrolled at the University and I have been insured there. Now I am preparing to graduate. Hopefully, I can get Medi-Cruz, the medical program for Santa Cruz County, but I heard that was not easy. I need to take medication every month and see a psychiatrist. If I am not insured, or if I cannot afford my medication, I will end up in the hospital. My son and his wife and their... (more)

My parents are in their mid-seventies. I moved them to the town I live in so that we could be close enough to help them out. They had an incredibly difficult time finding a doctor who would accept Medicare, because the town we live in (Santa Cruz, CA) is still being classified as "rural" which is an outdated classificiation.

I am stuck in this window of limbo. i do not make enough to afford a healthcare plan on my own and i make to much to get medical. as i sit here i have a terrible tooth ache but i will not have enogh cash to get it fixed for another week yet. I would like to see a universal healthcare system that is equal for all, yes this will raise taxes but i believe it is well worth it. if this subject had not come to the table my wife and i were considering moving from to another country that already has this system in place just so i would not have the... (more)

vegetarian nutrition has enabled me to avoid almost every health problem people my age suffer from all around me. I URGE BARAK TO SUPPORT NAT. VEGETARIAN NUTRITION EDUCATION as part of our Health Science ciriccullum K-8 Most people eat meat robotically o sympathetically, but its a major cause of heart disease, and 6 cancers (putrification) from ammonia, and nitrosamines, amoung other chemicals. It's also destroying the earth. The Garden of Eden was destroyed by hunting and gathering, (now gathering to feedlot)because the fruit of action... (more)

I have had to use interns for counselors all my life because I do not have health insurance. I was never able to afford a psychiatrist or an experienced counselor. I have had mental health misdiagnoses for over 20 years. I had diagnosed myself at age 22, but I was not believed by my inadequate provider and so did not get treated. Two decades later, I am finally getting the help I need. Unfortunately, I had to do something that I felt was unethical in order to get the money for treatment. I can't wait any longer to get good help. I am... (more)

Dear President Obama, I am both a physician and a fourth time cancer patient. I have had excellent health care. I had Breast Cancer at age 45, ovarian cancer at age 47, malignant melanoma in situ at age 52,and was then diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer 5 years ago at age 56. As you can imagine there were many surgeries, courses of chemotherapy and hospitalizations. I was advised to close my practice which I loved at the time of my pancreatic ca diagnosis and surgery to reroute my obstructed intestines. After 3 years of... (more)

I have a reoccurring knee injury. It has plagued me since I was 8 years old. I can not afford to have a surgery. I am very active and do lots of yoga and what I can. But just going on a long hike can bring on severe pain and lay me up for several days. The problems in my knee has affected my hips over the years and it is looking like if i dont get surgery, physical therapy, chiropractic help and massage therapy to reconstruct proper alignment within 20 years or less I will also need a hip replacement! I am only 30 now. Please give me... (more)

I was diagnosed with locally advanced Stage 3 breast cancer in 2002 when I was 42 years old. My treatment included 7 months of chemo, a mastectomy, 6 weeks of radiation, and reconstructive surgery. Because my husband had been recently laid off from his job in Silicon Valley, I had to pay extra to add him to my plan through my job and I had to continue to work full-time so that I could get my care covered, despite pain, nausea, and exhaustion. We had many thousands of dollars of care that were not covered, despite having a fairly good... (more)

We need single payer! I have a family friend who is recovering from surgery. While in recovery, his insurance carrier decided to drop him. Instead of having the time to recover, he has had to spend much of his time on the phone with his insurance company. Health care is a human right. We need a public health care system based on the principle that everyone is entitled to access to care. Put single payer on the table. It has to be debated on its merits. It is high time that we put people before profits.

I am a single woman in my 50's who owns my own once very success business. My individual health care policy has increased from $124 monthly with $100 deductible and 80% coverage in 2000 to $644 monthly today with a $1500 and only 70% coverage. I only gross around $40,000 yearly and this is outrageously devastating to my quality of life in every way to cover this expense. I have not been able to keep up with my preventative tests or any of the things we are suggested to do to take care of ourselves now for the last 5 yrs since the overnight... (more)