Health Care

I have been really lucky. I have good health-care, but my best friend hasn't been so lucky. He was not able to get an education and has gone from one dead end job to another and hasn't been able to get coverage at all. When he was a kid, he got hit by a car and messed up his shoulder. Lately, it has been flaring up but he can't go to the doctor. He also can't get preventative care because it's too expensive without insurance. I support universal health care so no one will be in this situation.

I wanted to switch insurance companies to save money. I was offered a plan that was less than my current plan. However, when I submitted the insurance forms, the price was higher than what I had been quoted. In addition, the new policy would not cover my right leg, which I had broken two years earlier. The result was that I remained with Kaiser.

My friend's son had serious liver disease. Because he did not have health insurance, he did not see a doctor. As his disease progressed he was forced to seek medical care at the emergency room where the only remaining option was to have a liver transplant. Unfortunately, Dan died at age 30 because of his inability to pay for health insurance. What a travesty in this incredibly wealthy country!

As a physician, I have seen many people fall off the rolls of the insured. Patients don't return for follow-up care or, for example, when their blood pressure is out of control. Physicians cannot afford to stay in business, especially with the increasing number of people on Medicaid. In fact, my medical group went broke so we joined with a hospital to stay in practice.

My wife’s son, who is a terrific mechanic, has diabetes. He cannot get health insurance. He is going into debt paying for his insulin.