The Faces of Health Care Reform (Video)

To a Representative, nothing is more important than her constituents and their well being.

As a child, I don't remember going to the doctor very often. My mother fought breast cancer, and finding affordable insurance after she beat cancer was very difficult for my parents, because my dad was a self employed small business owner and my mom had a so-called "pre-existing illness." Affordability and access to health care are still issues for millions of Americans today.

So many of my constituents have shared their stories with me about their struggles with accessing affordable, stable, quality health insurance.

They are the reason we need health care reform, and their stories are the reason why I stood with them last Saturday and voted for the Affordable Health Care for America Act.

I'm so grateful that my constituents shared their personal stories with me. They are the face of the health care crisis we face in America, and they are the reason we urgently need reform. We put together a video of these stories to show why reforming health care is so necessary.

If you're moved by this video, please share your story with me.

 

Comments

[HST]

"To a Representative, nothing is more important than her constituents and their well being."

Not for GOP reps. The most important thing is that Obama fails.

[rmajh5]

PBS' Frontline series last night dealt with health issues around the world. They visited several nations including Britain, Germany, Taiwan and Japan, and in each of these countries, universal health coverage was a given. And it seems to be working well without people giving up their freedom and their rights in other areas of their lives.

Taiwan's story was especially interesting. In the mid 1990s, Taiwan created a group of experts to visit 12 nations including our country to examine and evaluate health care systems and then to design one that would fit Taiwan. They did just that, and as I said, all in that counrty now receive affordable health care whether working or not.

As of now, we are the only major democracy in the world that does not provide health care to all of our citizens. At the same time, the cost of our health care for our country and for each of us, is far above the cost found in most other nations including Britain, Japan, Taiwan and Germany.

We still have a lot to learn.

[NICELYDONE]

Debbie,,,, seems that after your stint on Don and Roma on WLS radio this morning this is damage control

[sheila]

Great, but without serious cost controls, you are actually only helping a few million very poor uninsured, and costing the rest of us a fortune. PLEASE put serious effort into medicare for all, total removal of the requirement that individuals disclose their entire health history (now that we are an actuarial pool of 300 million, there is no need), and put serious downward pressure on the costs of medical care, drugs and insurance.

Congress is setting us up to fail because it is INEVITABLE that healthcare costs will continue to rise under your plan, which will discredit all the great work on establishing a public option. This is not a moment to go halfway because you will turn even Democrats against you if you make them spend more to get less.

Come on - if you are sincere about helping these people, do the right thing - medicare for all.