After reading the St. Louis Post Dispatch...

Everyone see the suffering that befalls anymore who is un-insured, however there are many cases of folks just like you and I who end up losing their health, homes and families because their insurance policy become cancelled because of illness. Yes, they have a policy and because the carrier decides they are not profitable enough to them anymore, they are dropped from coverage.

Just this morning I read Bill McClellan's column in the St. Louis Post Dispatch about someone who, lived the life that everyone wants he paid his premiums on time and enjoyed many years of good health. But, just a short time ago became ill with ALS. When he became too ill to eat, his doctor prescribed the equipment and food for his feeding tube, then the reality of the current healthcare situation came to Chesterfield Missouri, his insurance company denied his coverage. Even though, his friends threw a fund raiser to help his wife and children afford their fathers medical bills. His rising medical debt grew to point where they no longer enjoy the financial freedom from basic needs and their home. There loses are just one story that occurring daily in every town village and state. Many have suffered this same fate.

Just like the many stories of medical debt forcing tuff choices between food, shelter and paying COBRA or trying to take out a private policy. Here is a situation that goes beyond belief. This nation is at the mercy of a few Rich and powerful people who have made deceptions’ that you can protect your family or personal financial health by paying for their corporations’ policy that will pay health costs. This why there’s a growing amount medical debt and large number of medical bankruptcy in the country every day. Greed is cause of the suffering for many into heavy medical debt, forced to file bankruptcy.

I’ve been on “TWITTER” and will say for as many people like me pleading for change to help the sick and prevent the denials of coverage that has caused the growing roles of these medical bankruptcy everyday, there are individuals who are afraid of the national debt a Single Payer system would bring. There are some that say “ITS THEIR OWN FAULT FOR GETTING SICK”. My answer come in the form of the saying “No Man is an Island”. As time goes on this country will only produce two things real well, sick people and debt, this will cause undo suffering to all. The tweets are short messages, but the anger and lack of good intent is very disturbing by those who sole purpose is to preserve the status quo.

When John Edwards said that there are two Americas, he was right. Status quo? If we as a nation accept nothing as a solution, then sooner than later we all will have nothing. As time goes on the number of suffering will increase, the number of un-insured will increase and number of families losing homes because the medical debt will increase. The question is not about taxes even though they will have to go up. The question is not about responsibility of keeping insurance coverage, which can change because of a layoff. It’s the America that takes care of her own. The America that gets the value from paying taxes that keep good roads, assure its air, water and preserves its natural resources. It’s the America that assures life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, but also health.
Everyone has seen the suffering of the un-insured, but now is seeing the suffering of those with insurance. I have myself two sons who are without coverage. One because he is no longer in college, which he can’t not afford, but another son who is between jobs and can’t afford the individual policy because he was laid off by a small business that was exempt from offering COBRA. Myself had to pay off the short fall of a watered-down group policy that’s limits caused me to pay over $6500 out of pocket after being laid off. There are many stories of un-insured becoming homeless after a short time being jobless. But why are there stories of families being ruined by the greed of a few. If someone paid me money for my services and I didn’t deliver, I would be either sued or prosecuted. Why is it that just because someone who faithfully kept his family insured and had one bad illness, their deemed “UN-PROFITABLE” and the coverage is dropped. To stop this suffering, we need a new healthcare system. Government needs to regulate private insurance companies, but if not engage in a single payer system to remove from the threat to the very fabric of families in the United States of medical debt.

The numbers for one month of delayed healthcare reform:
143,250 people will lose their health insurance coverage
53,507 people will file for bankruptcy because they can't pay their medical bills
1,265 people will die because they lack coverage.
http://familiesusa.org/assets/pdfs/health-reform/clock-is-ticking.pdf
http://cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/06/05/bankruptcy.medical.bills/
http://cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/06/05/bankruptcy.medical.bills/