The current health care situation is a NO WIN for everyone except the special interests. 14,000 per day lose health care, which means, they lose their lives, or they are pressed into State Hospitals which are then overburdened with non-payment. Meanwhile, those who have health care are not able to afford the co-pays and the dodging of responsibility of the insurance industry and are hounded by Collection Letters for the thousands of dollars for just ONE MRI, as my 28-year old daughter is. I benefited from this industry 33 years, it still provides my support, and I HATE this system.

You tell'em!! I couldn't agree more.

I hear you screaming and I'm standing alongside you, screaming as well. If this whole debate doesn't probe what scared sheep the public is, I don't know what does. How can almost everyone believe something needs to change drastically, but be so scared of the change we need.

It's unbelievable to me that conservative commercials can just say vote NO without having any proposals beside the status quo. But the scariest thing is that this tactic seems to be working. WHAT ARE PEOPLE SCARED OF? Do you really think it could get much worse?

And now, we're so terrified of every possible illness and so reliant on doctors and the pharmaceutical companies that any hint that they would be hurt by this change paralyzes us.

Keep being angry...we need it.

Yes! I have to carefully work three jobs (one under the table, one that is paid differently than weekly/bi-weekly) in order to meet bills but not lose MassHealth (Medicaid). I used to be insured, very generously, through my partner's insurance, but he switched jobs and is happier, makes more money but....no insurance. And I had a biopsy last year, am right now continuing to recover from Lyme disease, just got another "bad" mammo (probably just a shadow, but I wouldn't be able to afford one at all). And I'm relatively healthy and only have ME to worry about!
Thanks for writing this - just wanted to chime in!

I'm demanding that our elected representatives have to have the same healthcare that we do; the same social security that we do, live by the same rules that we do. Until then, they have no motivation to change anything. Demand equality, not segregation. They live in a separate universe.

as a canadian, I can not fathom that a system as wasteful and corrupt as yours can fail to provide even basic coverage for so many.

I'm making about four doctor's appointments in the month that I have left.

I don't understand how any reasonable person, once they've heard the facts rather than the fear-mongering, can oppose public healthcare. They're so terrified of "socialized medicine", but would they argue that we abolish public schools, libraries, and police forces? I really hope not. Those programs are free because they're for the PUBLIC GOOD. Even though some of those systems have problems, what are we going to do, privatize the school system so that only those with a lot of money can pay for it? To offset some of the costs, we could make an "education insurance company". That way, we can get some corporate middleman to deny your child's right to learn fractions, because they've determined it's not useful enough. If you want to learn fractions, it's gonna come out of your own pocket, dammit.

Job please, Fox News. I'm willing to go blond.

Please, please, please send this to Sen. Grassley. Are you in Loebsack's district? He needs it, too. But we really need people to focus on Rep. Braley right now. He sits on Energy and Commerce and they MUST vote the bill out of committee next week or we will lose much, much ground. If you're in Loebsack's district, tell them to work with other member's of Iowa's delegation to get this passed.

Thanks, Carol. This is such a worrisome time right now.

As far as the COBRA... some of the ARRA language restructured COBRA benefits, but it depends on when you went on them. PM me if you want. I may know a little something that will help.

We are a preposterously overmedicated society. I support single-payer health insurance on purely pragmatic grounds (we're already paying more in taxes for health care than Canadians do, so why can't we have the kind of health care Canadians have?) but most of all I would like to see people take responsibility for their health and stop allowing themselves to be infantilized by the health care industry. In a world in which half the people lack adequate sanitation and a quarter of them lack safe drinking water, this endless, hypochondriacal concern with cancer screening, cholesterol numbers, etc is more than a bit unseemly. Especially since most people can't be bothered to do the simple, free things which have been to improve health and increase lifespan -- exercising, eating sensibly, and refraining from smoking and excessive drinking.

Right on, Ms. Berg. And all who've posted about this subject - it truly is Congress' Katrina! As a federal retiree, I am sitting pretty re health care, but my grown kids are not. And since they have my 6 grandkids, this is one of my #1 issues.

Come on, Americans. Afraid of a little socialism? Let's DO this thing, give EVERYONE fed health care benefits, or even better, single-payer. Let's lead the way to the best health care in the world. Let's give up a few joint-strike fighter jets; a few thousand pounds of white phosphorus; a few million plastic water bottles full of tap water. Let's skim off a few oreos off the defense budget (for a graphic look at how easy this shit is, look at:

http://www.truemajority.org/oreos/

He put that together in 2006, but it's still a great, easy way for folks to really GET IT about where their taxpayer dollars are going. Take some time to look at it, PLEASE. You should be depressed after watching it, if you've never seen it.

Let's not wait another 8 years for what's needed now. Time to make some phone calls! Emails aren't cutting it, so we all gotta CALL. NOW.

stop whining, and do something constructive:

start a citizen action group to get health care by citizen initiative.

except you don't have citizen initiative, do you? why is that?

Um... Al Loomis? She is doing something constructive. She's sharing her story to all who might read it, and urging others to contact their representatives in support of healthcare reform. She sent this in an e-mail to all her family and friends who were either opposed to Obama's healthcare plan or on the fence, so that they might be able to relate on a personal level. If everyone suffering under our current system shared their stories with only their family and friends, I think we would have no problem getting the American people behind reform. Contacting representatives, sharing stories, what else would a "citizen action group" do?

Second of all, your comment was mean. Why is that? It seems like you support healthcare reform, C just poured her heart out, and you don't even know her. If you really cared about creating citizen action, you wouldn't be snide when someone voices their support for reform, you would see it as an opportunity for mobilization.

angry isn't good enough. you also have to smart and educated, aware of history and motivated to change the future.

that pretty well excludes you and every other american.

people raised in a society without democracy do not suddenly develop the character of citizens. so your anger will be dissipated in useless talk and writing. i can't see the future, but i have seen the past and that is what has happened, always.

i'm sorry, but ignorant people don't find solutions. you have to research and consult other societies to extend your imagination and conceive of new ways of doing things. angry isn't enough, but it is typical of americans: a race of grain-fed taxcows who have swallowed every lie the elite have fostered.

I agree with every thing you said and am cheering! This is the time-right now--to fix this mess and prevent people from suffering in dying in this once great country. The system is broken and there is no more time to waste. The Democrats who wimp out on this are going to find out a very sorry lesson--some of us are not going to accept any more delays or excuses. I have been a democrat since 1968; my business name Ripples of Hope comes from a Robert Kennedy speech. I will be patient about nearly everything as I do recognize that things change slowly but I will not sit back and be told to wait so more and watch my clients, my friends and my own family suffer in this system. The solution is simple--They do not need 60 votes in the Senate to pass healthcare. They need 60 votes to block a filibuster. All democrats need to vote to break the filibuster. If they don't want to vote for the final bill then they don't have too. If Democrats like Feinstein, and Nelson and other traitors do not vote to break the filibuster then they are enemies of the people. Hey, Democrats if you lose guys like me, where is your future?

Ok, Al, since myself and every other American is so ignorant, why don't you enlighten us by publishing your own brilliant ideas? Angry isn't enough, and mudslinging on stranger's blogs isn't enough. What have you done? And please, don't respond here. It seems like all you're capable of is nastiness on message boards.

"you also have to smart and educated, aware of history and motivated to change the future..... you have to research and consult other societies to extend your imagination and conceive of new ways of doing things."
I would be offended by those statements, since you have no evidence that C or myself is lacking in any of those areas (I lived in a country with nationalized healthcare), but I have to consider the source, so I'm letting it go.

So please, indulge us, on your own blog. Tell us all about what you've done, about your citizen's action groups, about all of your research and what you've learned from history. Or is it just easier for you to tear down other people's ideas? Constructive, indeed.

i don't publish my ideas anymore, ms berg. they were not original. the women of america used them to get the right to vote, which was good, and temperance which was not.

community action is apparently no longer possible in america, simply because there is no sense of community in the mobile, atomized and alienated society america has become.

you have the example of female suffrage and temperance in your history, but neither you nor any american suggests using this positive and effective action to get health care reform. you are apparently incapable of citizen action.

perhaps i should not verbally chastise slaves for having a slavish character, it's like kicking a dog, isn't it? but a few americans are vaguely aware that 'something should be done', and perhaps my words will energize someone to lead a democracy movement, or at least join one, if it should appear.

about 40 years ago, i began to say to people around me, that our government was evil. i was pretty confident in my opinion, as the government was dropping napalm on paddy farmers, to save them from becoming communist.

so i urge you to be citizens of a democracy, to get power out of the hands of politicians. they can not be trusted with this power, no human can.

Brie, I am going to keep telling them until they listen. If they don't get off their arses and pass universal health care, I will start an uprising.

Noah, Glad to have you on board!!! I may be driving to Washington to speak with these power brokers to make sure they know this plan is NOT OBAMA's Plan. This plan is THE PEOPLE's plan. You can come with me. I'll pick you up on the way.

aim, You are in the same situation as my friend. The only way she can afford health care is Medicade. She has survived stage 4 breast cancer, has arthritis, etc. and could NEVER afford private health care, or even a group health care plan with the high deductibles.

Deborah, Excellent Idea! They are in a different universe, where they look down on "the people." They should come and see it from our view.

Brian, I can't believe it either!

Cassie, Maybe you should go for the government jobs. Great health care and retirement. Good idea to get your doctor's appointments now. I'm making mine too.

wakingup, I have peppered the media, and will be going to Grassley's office on Monday, and Yes, LOEBSACK. I contributed to his election, and I will be calling both of their offices, AND sending letters to them which I have already sent to all of the major Iowa newspapers. I was invited to sit in on a panel on healthcare here. I do want to talk to you.

Patrick, You are making an excellent point. YES, we are overmedicated, over tested, over-scared making us forget that health is our normal state. Advertising drugs, and advertising in general, creates this anxiety that tells us we aren't okay. One of my points is that our "sickness" system must continue to create hypochondria to feed it's enormous appetite for patients.

We must change the sickness paradigm to a system that supports wellness, now only available in "alternative" health care.

Dragonlady, YES. You are right. It is time to act. AND to get more citizens on board. My family in Kansas is wary of government interference, but I am asking them to look at their own experience with this system and put aside their fears. We need this NOW.

Al Loomis, Who are you and why do you care? I essentially agree with the whole power trip of politicians, etc., but I am doing something about it. Are you? Citizens movements may be dead to you, but not to me. I am on it. This letter is only part of it.

Cassie, Thanks so much for making excellent points. You are a brilliant jem, as you have always been. Thanks for all of your work and caring. You are truly a woman of action!

good health care should NOT be about politics...or campaign donations

CB, Great rant! I see you saw mine, too! And don't worry about "al loomis." He's apparently so busy judging people he doesn't know (and telling them how stupid they are) that he can't be bothered with proper grammar and puctuation, much less politeness.

Same thought as expressed in comment on 08/15/09 entry.