These stories come from the real people who live with a broken health care system. Some have health insurance and some do not. Many of these stories suggest potential solutions* that lead to quality, affordable health care we can count on. One thing we all agree on is that the we cannot trust the insurance industry to fix themselves. To learn more about what Health Care for America Now stands for read our Statement of Common Purpose.
We wanted to give you a chance to speak for yourself, in your own voice, about the need for Health Care for America Now. Do you have something to say? Tell us your story.
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Ellen
Bethesda, MD
I'm a government employee with coverage under the FEHBP Blue Cross Standard plan. Over the 7 1/2 years I have worked for the government, I have seen my benefits erode significantly. Last year, I became extremely ill, and I am now managing several chronic diseases, requiring expensive laboratory tests and expensive medicines at least monthly. My monthly costs for prescription drugs are about $70 a month. I also have to have an injection every 2-3 months, at a cost of $15 for the doctor's appointment and $50 for the drug. In addition, I had major surgery in December, for which my insurance paid less than half of my surgeon's fees, although it paid 80 percent of the allowed charges for my outpatient care, including expensive scans to confirm the existence, location, and size of a tumor in my neck. All in all, my out-of-pocket expenditures for the surgery exceeded $5,000.
But I'm not really complaining - I'm thinking about those who cannot afford insurance or cannot afford the uncovered parts of their expenses. If I were uninsured, my daily medicines would exceed $900 per month; my injected drug would cost $1500; and I probably would have had to forgo the surgery altogether, even though failure to remove the tumor would have had severe long-term effects on my health and my ability to maintain a job, as well as taking years off my life.
So my personal stake in this battle pales before the issues faced by those less fortunate.
Ellen Griffith
*Health Care for America Now is not responsible for the content of these stories. These stories are submitted by individuals in the online audience and have been edited in some cases. Health Care For America Now does not endorse any of the solutions or policy positions suggested in the content of these stories. Health Care for America Now is a coalition of organizations that agree to the Statement of Common Purpose.
See our coalition partner list.
Read the Statement of Common Purpose.
