Hear what Americans are saying about their health care

Doris paid into the teacher retirement system her whole life. Shortly after her retirement, medical premiums jumped and she had to get a part time job.; health insurance; retire; benefits; teacher; cost; network; part-time worker; nm; Patricia helps families get health care for the school district, but she's a part time employee and can't get health coverage for her own family.; postpone care; postponed care; Ca; prevention; cost; Uninsured; part-time worker; Maria quit a corporate job to focus on her family, but now must cover her kids through SCHIP and goes without insurance herself.; child; change jobs; Ca; schip; job lock; Uninsured; individual coverage; Barry exercises and takes care of his health. Because he takes statins to keep his cholesterol low, he can't get affordable insurance.; Ca; prescription; retire; high-deductible; cost; Retirement; high risk pool; Statin; pre-existing condition; prevention; healthy; Ellen's company forced thousands into early retirement. Now she works mainly to pay her health insurance.; insurance; Retirement; AZ; health insurance; benefits; cost; Mike's family helps him run his business, but he can't afford the monthly premiums for health insurance so they all must go to the local clinic for care.; postpone care; postponed care; clinic; small business; healthy; UT; cost; Uninsured; individual coverage; Bobbie is now self employed. She has postponed care for her skin cancer, and can't keep money in her health savings account due to medical expenses.; Ca; high-deductible; cost; self-employed; Cancer; Health Savings Account; Cindy contracted MRSA after a C-Section delivery of her baby. She suffered very poor care and staff made no effort to stop the spread of the infection.; hospital infection; Ca; MRSA; patient safety; advocate; birthing; health workers; Vivian stays home to care for her husband. She can't buy individual health insurance because of a health condition.; Retirement; high risk pool; or; pre-existing condition; uninsurable; cost; Uninsured; cobra; Sammy has a heart condition but postpones seeing his cardiologist because one visit costs two weeks pay.; mn; postponed care; heart; prescription; specialist; media conference; cost; Uninsured; tx; postpone care; When diagnosed with cancer, Judith couldn't afford her prescriptions even though she had insurance so she started buying in other countries.; buy drugs in other countries; Osteoporosis; Drugs; prescription; mental health; Underinsured; cost; Cancer; Because of high costs, Amanda may need to drop her health coverage after she gives birth to her second child. ; id; insurance; maternity; teacher; cost; individual coverage; The rising cost of health insurance affects the way Jeff manages his small business, and his own care. ; postpone care; postponed care; shopping for insurance; small business; pre-existing condition; high-deductible; Ken is uninsured and at 62, a few year away from receiving Medicare. After he retired from his job at a school, he declined to take COBRA insurance, which would have cost him $800 a month. ; Retirement; cost; Uninsured; self-employed; cobra; Hazel is on the verge of bankrupcy after accruing medical debt since the 1980s. This month she turns 65, and finally gets the insurance she's been waiting for through Medicare.; heart disease; medical debt; sd; bankruptcy; teacher; medical error; Uninsured; hospital; Donna's soaring medical bills eventually cost her and her husband to lose their home. ; bankruptcy; debt collection; medical debt; cost; Cancer; Sarah Mercer comments that communities of color need better data from all parts of the health system to know whether plans and facilities are serving them.; people of color; coalition partner; Ca; Uninsured; Jill suffers from severe migraines. She tried to go to a hospital that specializes in treating headaches, but her insurance refused to cover her. ; insurance; migraine; specialist; Bureaucracy; hospital; denied claim; Cindy is afraid to use her COBRA health insurance, the cost of which is eating away at her retirement savings. ; postponed care; accident; nd; pre-existing condition; cost; Cancer; cobra; After she lost her job, Linda has received care for her hyperthyroidism at Austin's Peoples Community Clinic .; tx; clinic; hyperthyroidism; Matt says the insurance he has as part of the Nebraska high risk pool is basically "catastrophic" health coverage.; high risk pool; pre-existing condition; ne; high-deductible; uninsurable; early retirement; cobra; The high deductable on her insurance makes Gina forego health care. ; As a small business owner, the cost of insurance might force Jeannie to stop offering health benefits to her employees. ; postpone care; postponed care; shopping for insurance; KS; small business; pre-existing condition; cost; Janne's son Tim racked up 1.2 million dollars in debt after being refused insurance. ; Barbara teaches volin. She pays for all the basics but cannot afford individual health insurance and often postpones care.; tx; postponed care; small business; texas; age rating; teacher; cost; self-employed; individual coverage; The People's Community Clinic gives many people in Austin the medical care they could not otherwise afford.; tx; clinic; event; texas; Underinsured; Uninsured; Many people may be staying away from New Orleans because the health safety net that once served them has not been rebuilt.; LA; Disaster; Uninsured; hospital; After more than 20 years, Sheila lost her job and benefits. She paid for COBRA until it ran out, but she's still looking for full time work with healthcare.; unemployed; Uninsured; pre-existing condition; cobra; ms; After a serious accident, a helicopter flew John to a hospital. The insurance demanded he pay $9,000 because the helicopter was not in-network.; helicopter; al; accident; second job; emergency; cost; People work out different ways to cope with the rising cost of care. Health care workers wish they could focus more on prevention.; postponed care; copays; Drugs; prevention; me; cost; health workers; Carl, a tennis pro, must spend half his base salary to pay for his medical coverage.; postpone care; self employed; Retirement; FL; cost; When fighting prostate cancer, this Pastor found himself fighting his insurance company to pay for his doctors and treatments. ; Unlike the other hairdressers in Jill's shop, Jill has no access to coverage through a spouse. Her individual policy premium went up and up until she had to drop it.; self employed; health insurance; individual; small business; cost; GA; individual coverage; Kim's daughter died from complications of a simple surgery and suffered poor care in two different hospitals.; SC; hospital infection; medical error; surgery; pregnancy; Helen's son died after a simple, noninvasive surgery. Helen launched Mothers Against Medical Errors in response.; SC; hospital infection; medical error; hospital; MRSA; Because their patients' insurance companies so often deny claims, and the patients can't afford to pay, Scott and Cece eventually couldn't afford their own insurance.; NH; provider; Uninsured; denied claim; The insurance company denied payment for Emily's scooter, offering a manual wheelchair instead. Eventually, she successfully fought for what she needed.; disability; NH; chronic fatigue; scooter; Diane lost her husband to medical errors. A simple surgery went wildly awry, and he suffered an antiobiotic resistant hospital infection.; SC; hospital infection; medical error; MRSA; After a bicycle accident, Jim's teenage son went in for surgery but came out with a dangerous hospital-acquired MRSA infection.; patient safety; SC; hospital infection; MRSA; People who have seen unsafe medical care up close have formed a broad national movement to stop medical errors.; patient safety; SC; hospital infection; medical error; prescription; When Kim's husband's company went bankrupt, he got a new job with a small firm that provided only catastrophic coverage.; small business; pre-existing condition; arthritis; IL; Underinsured; cost; Bea loves starting her own business. The only health insurance she could afford excludes the very thing she needs it for.; self employed; nc; small business; pre-existing condition; Underinsured; cost; individual coverage; When his company spun off a division, Dave and many others lost their job. At 64 he had to find a job with benefits and stay til he's 69 to cover his wife.; Retirement; layoff; cost; job lock; Michael managed to avoid being denied health coverage on the individual market, but not the rising cost of premiums.; When she was diagnosed with cancer, Molly's friends and coworkers held benefits to help pay the high out-of-pocket expense her catastrophic policy wouldn't cover.; self employed; Underinsured; cost; Cancer; individual coverage; The Cover America Tour organized with local Tennessee groups in Nashville to speak out for affordable health care.; Jessica is the only one in her family who doesn't have medical insurance. This year she had to get gall bladder surgery. ; Pastor Jim's runs a clinic serving working families who don't have health insurance.; IL; clinic; Uninsured; Diyon had to quit her job and file for bankruptcy in order for her infant with medical needs could qualify for Medicaid, the nation's health system for the poorest families.; Michelle now has a job that doesn't provide insurance. After week long hospital stay, the hospital charged $38,000. Bill collectors hound her to keep up payments.; heart; clinic; bill collectors; detroit; cost; Uninsured; hospital; mi; Cabrini Clinic volunteers and professionals work long hours to help those in need. The clinic should be a "safety net below the safety net," but instead it's the only place for many to get care.; Laurel contracted epilepsy, had to stop working, and paid for COBRA insurance coverage until it ran out. Individual coverage is too expensive.; Epilepsy; nurse; cost; mi; individual coverage; cobra; Peter had to make the "economic decision" not to get his thumb reattached after an accident. ; Peggy says 30 years of being a hospital social worker leaves her frustrated on behalf of her patients. ; advocate; Bureaucracy; hospital; cleveland; OH; People gathered in Pittsburgh to tell their own stories and advocate for real reforms that will lower cost and give health care to health care workers.; Pittsburgh; Pa; cost; Uninsured; surgery; health workers; Marty 's been faced with rising medical costs both as an employer and as an individual payer in retirement. ; Tina's individual health insurance policy denied all her maternity care, until a local reporter took up her cause. After she gave birth, the company cancelled her.; Nicole has too many assets to qualify for Medicaid but doesn't make enough money to qualify for the state program designed to help middle income people.; NY; cost; small business; Medicaid; Kathy can't afford the medications she needs to treat her diabetes, so she just gets sicker.; Drugs; prescription; diabetes; divorce; NY; cost; Karen develped a severe allergy to latex, an alergy that now keeps her at home. When rushed to the hospital, doctors sometimes don't take her condition seriously or take proper precautions.; disability; nurse; emergency care; allergy; The Cover America tour stops in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.; journey; Jennifer went to seven doctors and spent $4,500 before getting a diagnosis and treatment that worked. The experience depleted her savings.; diagnosis; health insurance; maine; tests; cost; Don finds himself managing both a child's difficult illness and a medical system seemingly designed to throw only roadblocks, not life support.; child; health insurance; development; mental health; diagnosis; Experimental; cost; When Gary first bought health insurance, it provided good coverage at a reasonable price, but every year the price went up.; health insurance; individual; cost; Barbara takes several medications, costing more than she could afford without assistance.; Medicare; cost; prescription; Briefly unemployed, Michele paid for COBRA but couldn't afford it for her husband. He went to the emergency room once--they are still paying the bills.; health insurance; cost; cobra; Carol, a cancer survivor, must also struggle to maintain health insurance, a struggle that she believes will continue to limit her job and retirement options. ; insurance; san jose; California; job lock; Health; Cancer; cobra; Orv's knee replacement turned into a nightmare when he contracted an infection. After several surgeries, he had to have an amputation.; hospital infection; prosthesis; health insurance; Lexington; experimental treatment; cost; surgery; Denial; kentucky; Michael paid hundreds per month for health insurance that had such a high deductible and copay that he could not afford a number of procedures.; postpone care; health insurance; Fort Worth; texas; deductible; cost; copayment; Severe arthritis hit before Tom qualified for Medicare. He postponed treatment, leading to pain and depression. until two days after his 65th birthday.; postponed care; minnesota; health insurance; small business; arthritis; Medicare; cost; copayment; With a family restaurant to run, Rachael had to take a second job to pay for health insurance for her family. ; health insurance; second job; small business; premium; texas; Liberty Hill; copayment; Denied coverage for his surgery by his employer's plan, Wayne first tried to change jobs to access care, then flew overseas in order to have his surgery.; health insurance; sacramento; California; experimental treatment; back surgery; Denial; Andrea was stuck with non-network doctors fees. ; Amy works full time, but does not get health insurance through her job and can't afford to buy it--so she goes without.; Bill went to a network hospital and was billed for non-network doctors fees.; Doris paid into the teacher retirement system her whole life. Shortly after her retirement, medical premiums jumped and she had to get a part time job.; health insurance; retire; benefits; teacher; cost; network; part-time worker; nm; Barry exercises and takes care of his health. Because he takes statins to keep his cholesterol low, he can't get affordable insurance.; Ca; prescription; retire; high-deductible; cost; Retirement; high risk pool; Statin; pre-existing condition; prevention; healthy; Ellen's company forced thousands into early retirement. Now she works mainly to pay her health insurance.; insurance; Retirement; AZ; health insurance; benefits; cost; Bobbie is now self employed. She has postponed care for her skin cancer, and can't keep money in her health savings account due to medical expenses.; Ca; high-deductible; cost; self-employed; Cancer; Health Savings Account; Peter had to make the "economic decision" not to get his thumb reattached after an accident. ; Vivian stays home to care for her husband. She can't buy individual health insurance because of a health condition.; Retirement; high risk pool; or; pre-existing condition; uninsurable; cost; Uninsured; cobra; When diagnosed with cancer, Judith couldn't afford her prescriptions even though she had insurance so she started buying in other countries.; buy drugs in other countries; Osteoporosis; Drugs; prescription; mental health; Underinsured; cost; Cancer; Because of high costs, Amanda may need to drop her health coverage after she gives birth to her second child. ; id; insurance; maternity; teacher; cost; individual coverage; The rising cost of health insurance affects the way Jeff manages his small business, and his own care. ; postpone care; postponed care; shopping for insurance; small business; pre-existing condition; high-deductible; Donna's soaring medical bills eventually cost her and her husband to lose their home. ; bankruptcy; debt collection; medical debt; cost; Cancer; Cindy is afraid to use her COBRA health insurance, the cost of which is eating away at her retirement savings. ; postponed care; accident; nd; pre-existing condition; cost; Cancer; cobra; Michael managed to avoid being denied health coverage on the individual market, but not the rising cost of premiums.; As a small business owner, the cost of insurance might force Jeannie to stop offering health benefits to her employees. ; postpone care; postponed care; shopping for insurance; KS; small business; pre-existing condition; cost; Carl, a tennis pro, must spend half his base salary to pay for his medical coverage.; postpone care; self employed; Retirement; FL; cost; Unlike the other hairdressers in Jill's shop, Jill has no access to coverage through a spouse. Her individual policy premium went up and up until she had to drop it.; self employed; health insurance; individual; small business; cost; GA; individual coverage; When Kim's husband's company went bankrupt, he got a new job with a small firm that provided only catastrophic coverage.; small business; pre-existing condition; arthritis; IL; Underinsured; cost; When his company spun off a division, Dave and many others lost their job. At 64 he had to find a job with benefits and stay til he's 69 to cover his wife.; Retirement; layoff; cost; job lock; Michelle now has a job that doesn't provide insurance. After week long hospital stay, the hospital charged $38,000. Bill collectors hound her to keep up payments.; heart; clinic; bill collectors; detroit; cost; Uninsured; hospital; mi; Laurel contracted epilepsy, had to stop working, and paid for COBRA insurance coverage until it ran out. Individual coverage is too expensive.; Epilepsy; nurse; cost; mi; individual coverage; cobra; Kathy can't afford the medications she needs to treat her diabetes, so she just gets sicker.; Drugs; prescription; diabetes; divorce; NY; cost; When Gary first bought health insurance, it provided good coverage at a reasonable price, but every year the price went up.; health insurance; individual; cost; Briefly unemployed, Michele paid for COBRA but couldn't afford it for her husband. He went to the emergency room once--they are still paying the bills.; health insurance; cost; cobra; Bill went to a network hospital and was billed for non-network doctors fees.; Barbara takes several medications, costing more than she could afford without assistance.; Medicare; cost; prescription; With a family restaurant to run, Rachael had to take a second job to pay for health insurance for her family. ; health insurance; second job; small business; premium; texas; Liberty Hill; copayment; Michael paid hundreds per month for health insurance that had such a high deductible and copay that he could not afford a number of procedures.; postpone care; health insurance; Fort Worth; texas; deductible; cost; copayment; Matt says the insurance he has as part of the Nebraska high risk pool is basically "catastrophic" health coverage.; high risk pool; pre-existing condition; ne; high-deductible; uninsurable; early retirement; cobra; Marty 's been faced with rising medical costs both as an employer and as an individual payer in retirement. ; Jill suffers from severe migraines. She tried to go to a hospital that specializes in treating headaches, but her insurance refused to cover her. ; insurance; migraine; specialist; Bureaucracy; hospital; denied claim; The high deductable on her insurance makes Gina forego health care. ; After a serious accident, a helicopter flew John to a hospital. The insurance demanded he pay $9,000 because the helicopter was not in-network.; helicopter; al; accident; second job; emergency; cost; When fighting prostate cancer, this Pastor found himself fighting his insurance company to pay for his doctors and treatments. ; Bea loves starting her own business. The only health insurance she could afford excludes the very thing she needs it for.; self employed; nc; small business; pre-existing condition; Underinsured; cost; individual coverage; When she was diagnosed with cancer, Molly's friends and coworkers held benefits to help pay the high out-of-pocket expense her catastrophic policy wouldn't cover.; self employed; Underinsured; cost; Cancer; individual coverage; Tina's individual health insurance policy denied all her maternity care, until a local reporter took up her cause. After she gave birth, the company cancelled her.; The insurance company denied payment for Emily's scooter, offering a manual wheelchair instead. Eventually, she successfully fought for what she needed.; disability; NH; chronic fatigue; scooter; Jennifer went to seven doctors and spent $4,500 before getting a diagnosis and treatment that worked. The experience depleted her savings.; diagnosis; health insurance; maine; tests; cost; Severe arthritis hit before Tom qualified for Medicare. He postponed treatment, leading to pain and depression. until two days after his 65th birthday.; postponed care; minnesota; health insurance; small business; arthritis; Medicare; cost; copayment; Andrea was stuck with non-network doctors fees. ; Don finds himself managing both a child's difficult illness and a medical system seemingly designed to throw only roadblocks, not life support.; child; health insurance; development; mental health; diagnosis; Experimental; cost; Cindy contracted MRSA after a C-Section delivery of her baby. She suffered very poor care and staff made no effort to stop the spread of the infection.; hospital infection; Ca; MRSA; patient safety; advocate; birthing; health workers; Sarah Mercer comments that communities of color need better data from all parts of the health system to know whether plans and facilities are serving them.; people of color; coalition partner; Ca; Uninsured; Hazel is on the verge of bankrupcy after accruing medical debt since the 1980s. This month she turns 65, and finally gets the insurance she's been waiting for through Medicare.; heart disease; medical debt; sd; bankruptcy; teacher; medical error; Uninsured; hospital; Kim's daughter died from complications of a simple surgery and suffered poor care in two different hospitals.; SC; hospital infection; medical error; surgery; pregnancy; Helen's son died after a simple, noninvasive surgery. Helen launched Mothers Against Medical Errors in response.; SC; hospital infection; medical error; hospital; MRSA; Diane lost her husband to medical errors. A simple surgery went wildly awry, and he suffered an antiobiotic resistant hospital infection.; SC; hospital infection; medical error; MRSA; After a bicycle accident, Jim's teenage son went in for surgery but came out with a dangerous hospital-acquired MRSA infection.; patient safety; SC; hospital infection; MRSA; People who have seen unsafe medical care up close have formed a broad national movement to stop medical errors.; patient safety; SC; hospital infection; medical error; prescription; Orv's knee replacement turned into a nightmare when he contracted an infection. After several surgeries, he had to have an amputation.; hospital infection; prosthesis; health insurance; Lexington; experimental treatment; cost; surgery; Denial; kentucky; Karen develped a severe allergy to latex, an alergy that now keeps her at home. When rushed to the hospital, doctors sometimes don't take her condition seriously or take proper precautions.; disability; nurse; emergency care; allergy; Peggy says 30 years of being a hospital social worker leaves her frustrated on behalf of her patients. ; advocate; Bureaucracy; hospital; cleveland; OH; Maria quit a corporate job to focus on her family, but now must cover her kids through SCHIP and goes without insurance herself.; child; change jobs; Ca; schip; job lock; Uninsured; individual coverage; Patricia helps families get health care for the school district, but she's a part time employee and can't get health coverage for her own family.; postpone care; postponed care; Ca; prevention; cost; Uninsured; part-time worker; Mike's family helps him run his business, but he can't afford the monthly premiums for health insurance so they all must go to the local clinic for care.; postpone care; postponed care; clinic; small business; healthy; UT; cost; Uninsured; individual coverage; After more than 20 years, Sheila lost her job and benefits. She paid for COBRA until it ran out, but she's still looking for full time work with healthcare.; unemployed; Uninsured; pre-existing condition; cobra; ms; Sammy has a heart condition but postpones seeing his cardiologist because one visit costs two weeks pay.; mn; postponed care; heart; prescription; specialist; media conference; cost; Uninsured; tx; postpone care; Ken is uninsured and at 62, a few year away from receiving Medicare. After he retired from his job at a school, he declined to take COBRA insurance, which would have cost him $800 a month. ; Retirement; cost; Uninsured; self-employed; cobra; Hazel is on the verge of bankrupcy after accruing medical debt since the 1980s. This month she turns 65, and finally gets the insurance she's been waiting for through Medicare.; heart disease; medical debt; sd; bankruptcy; teacher; medical error; Uninsured; hospital; After she lost her job, Linda has received care for her hyperthyroidism at Austin's Peoples Community Clinic .; tx; clinic; hyperthyroidism; Janne's son Tim racked up 1.2 million dollars in debt after being refused insurance. ; Barbara teaches volin. She pays for all the basics but cannot afford individual health insurance and often postpones care.; tx; postponed care; small business; texas; age rating; teacher; cost; self-employed; individual coverage; The People's Community Clinic gives many people in Austin the medical care they could not otherwise afford.; tx; clinic; event; texas; Underinsured; Uninsured; Many people may be staying away from New Orleans because the health safety net that once served them has not been rebuilt.; LA; Disaster; Uninsured; hospital; Diyon had to quit her job and file for bankruptcy in order for her infant with medical needs could qualify for Medicaid, the nation's health system for the poorest families.; Because their patients' insurance companies so often deny claims, and the patients can't afford to pay, Scott and Cece eventually couldn't afford their own insurance.; NH; provider; Uninsured; denied claim; Pastor Jim's runs a clinic serving working families who don't have health insurance.; IL; clinic; Uninsured; Cabrini Clinic volunteers and professionals work long hours to help those in need. The clinic should be a "safety net below the safety net," but instead it's the only place for many to get care.; Michelle now has a job that doesn't provide insurance. After week long hospital stay, the hospital charged $38,000. Bill collectors hound her to keep up payments.; heart; clinic; bill collectors; detroit; cost; Uninsured; hospital; mi; Nicole has too many assets to qualify for Medicaid but doesn't make enough money to qualify for the state program designed to help middle income people.; NY; cost; small business; Medicaid; Carol, a cancer survivor, must also struggle to maintain health insurance, a struggle that she believes will continue to limit her job and retirement options. ; insurance; san jose; California; job lock; Health; Cancer; cobra; Denied coverage for his surgery by his employer's plan, Wayne first tried to change jobs to access care, then flew overseas in order to have his surgery.; health insurance; sacramento; California; experimental treatment; back surgery; Denial; Amy works full time, but does not get health insurance through her job and can't afford to buy it--so she goes without.; People gathered in Pittsburgh to tell their own stories and advocate for real reforms that will lower cost and give health care to health care workers.; Pittsburgh; Pa; cost; Uninsured; surgery; health workers; Jessica is the only one in her family who doesn't have medical insurance. This year she had to get gall bladder surgery. ;