Here is what some members have already said about the need for health care reform. (click here to add your story) 

I pay $24,000 per year for coverage for myself and my son which is totally outrageous.  We are blessed that we have the money for it.  He will soon be out of school and won't be able to stay on my policy.  As he has pre-existing conditions for which he takes expensive medications and will continue to need to, I don't know how he'll get a policy or one with prescription coverage and he won't be able to afford it. He's 20 years old. Please help! - Harriet, VA

Our 4 long-term employees are seeking to leave our cafe because of the lack of health care coverage. Some of them have reported for work in spite of chronic, untreated illnesses for months. - Roberto, Washington, D.C.

I'm a RN and work on call for a local hospital in the Portland Oregon area.  Because I work on call for the hospital I don't qualify for their health insurance. My husband has his own very small business making a product for disabled people.  We have to buy our own individual health insurance.  The premiums just keep skyrocketing.  We had;a $5000 deductible but the monthly premium was increasing from $730 to over $900 so we had to increase our deductible to $10,000 to get our premium to a barely affordable $630 a month; I can't shop around due to a preexisting condition so we are at the mercy of the insurance conpanies. This plan doesn't cover office visits and the only preventative care they cover is a yearly mammogram and pap test (not the office visit to get the test though). I don't know what will happen to us if we have a major medical event. We also are not able to deduct the premiums from our taxes due to the tax code. PLEASE listen to the citizens NOT the insurance and drug companies. Health care should be a right for all citizens not just the well off. I would gladly have the same health coverage that all the government employees have. - Barb, OR

I am a nanny and buy my own health insurance. I think it's the responsible thing to do, especially as I commute by bike. I want to be covered if I am ever injured. Thank goodness I enjoy good health! My premiums have increased twice in the last year and what is covered seems to be less each time. I am afraid to go to the doctor even for recommended check ups because every time there seems to be unexpected fees for services not covered. When there have been mistakes in my bills, the process to get these removed is so lengthy and frustrating it's tempting to give in and just pay. Usually, every different person I speak to has a different interpretation and quite often the provider says I need to talk to the insurance company and the insurance company sends me back to the provider. I've only ever had to deal with this for minor illness; I don't know how people with major issues cope. It's so complicated even the people working in the industry don't seem to know the answers. ;Aside from all this, however, what makes it all the more intolerable for me was learning recently that the CEO of my health insurance company (Regence Blue Cross/ Blue Shield) earns over $500,000 a year! This person earns more than the president of the United States, and yet I'm being constantly asked to pay more for fewer services because of rising health care costs? It's outrageous. Please advocate for people like me: People who are trying to be responsible for themselves against increasingly long odds. - Lisa, OR

I am an artist and working part time.  My spouse is working part time as a family practice doctor and part time as an alternative medicine doctor. Both of us have had to rely on private plans.  When our previous insurer through a professional organization decided to get out of the medical insurance business, we found ourselves needing to get a new provider.  Our first choice was Blue Cross Blue Shields. I was offered a policy, however my spouse was refused based on a single sentence in his medical records.  He has had an enlarged prostrate for a number of years and has been adequately dealing with it with non-surgical procedures. However, during one meeting with his physician, his physician--as was his ethical duty -- mentioned all procedures to deal with an enlarged prostrate.  One of those procedures is surgery. His physician -- as was his ethical duty -- noted in one sentence in my spouses chart that he had discussed surgery for an enlarged prostrate.  It did not matter to Blue Cross Blue Shield that my spouse had pursued and was continuing to pursue non-surgery treatments. Thus he was denied for the mere mention of a surgery procedure. - Jane, MN

Three years ago my 19 year old son, who was in fine health,  needed shoulder surgery. We took him to a surgery center. On the day of the procedure we took him there at 6 am and had him home by 1 pm. The Surgeon billed us $7,000. OK, he is educated, skilled and he did a good job. The Surgery Center, anesthesiologist,etc... billed us $28,000. We were outraged. The charges for his 45 minutes in the "recovery room" which was a cot with curtains on each side and and an IV fluid drip as the only "machine", were THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS. Before the surgery I had asked the center for an estimation of the bill.  They had told me they just couldn't give me one because they  didn't know exactly what the surgery would entail.  I am disgusted with the audacity of the hospital for feeling free to charge this amount for not even one night in the surgery center! We couldn't pay it all at one time and sent in payments as it was possible.  During one conversation with the billing department the surgery center staff asked if I was indigent, and if I was, then the department should be embarrassed and I could get a break in the price. Though I am blessed not to be indigent I also didn't have $28,000 in my checking account... We couldn't pay it all at one time. - Sally, OH

Our monthly health care premiums feel almost like a second mortgage -- we pay about $800/month for a family HMO plan!  It is a tremendous burden for our family, but something we don't feel we can be without.  I can easily understand why people decide to go without insurance, given the costs involved. - Andrea, MD

While working for a plumbing company with copay health insurance, I injured my knee.  I went to U of M spinal clinic to have a tear examined.  I called to have it pre-approved and spoke with 3 different branches in order to find out if it was actually covered.  When I tried to get an explanation of what my copay would be, it took 15 minutes to explain and when I asked for a simplified copy of the description, she got angry with me.  Too much bureaucratic tape, unnecessarily complicated. - Daniel, MI

I have been self-employed for 24 years.  My health insurance is costly and every year, upon my renewal, I must choose a higher deductible and a lower amount of coverage. Once, just a couple of years ago, I tried to change to another company.  I was refused even though I am a very healthy 53-year old with no conditions. Health insurance is not health care. - Valerie, PA

The cost of health insurance for small groups has risen so much over the past few years that it is becoming too much of  hardship to maintain health coverage for our employees. Yet, health insurance coverage is needed to ensure workplace morale. - Sarah, VA

I get medical coverage for my family through my work, which takes a huge chunk out of my paycheck every month. But even with this planned expense we still cannot afford to get sick or even get preventative care. Each time a family member goes in to get a test or exam, we end up getting billed from multiple sources. The doctor bills us for the exam, the office bills us for the room, the lab bills us for processing the exam, and on and on. The amount of paperwork is staggering and our insurance fights us the whole way with the ridiculous number of hoops we have to jump through to get a bill paid or for reimbursement. And at the end of it all, we still end up paying more out-of-pocket. The US Health Care system is horribly broken and inadequate for the average American. - Jerry, MD

Even though we have the best coverage offered by the employer (because we pay the highest premium), we always have to fight for the insurance co. to pay some bills, including hospital ones. Most recently, they are forcing us to pay the difference between the cost of the service and amount they pay -- not the co-pay or deductible -- it's just the "it is your responsibility to pay this amount." We've fought it and finally given up and are paying it every time we receive this service. - Ajua, CA

My husband and I are sole proprietors of our companies,and the finances for our businesses are up and down all the time. Each time we sign on for health care insurance, the insurance companies double the rates after one year, to a rate we cannot pay. After playing the shell game with the insurance companies for ten years, I just dropped our insurance.  We're very healthy, and we just hope that nothing happens to us- if it does, we'll have to put our house up for collateral. - Christina, CO

Our PPO coverage has been a cruel joke because the company pays pennies on the dollar ( literally ) if you have to go outside the PPO coverage. We paid about $15,000 last year in premiums and received  back maybe $2,000 tops in a problem that cost $11,000 out of pocket from a specialist not in their program. This loop hole makes the insurance virtually worthless most all of the time. This is a political problem that both parties have failed at really addressing. It is a disgrace ! - Douglas, CA

My 25 year old son is a construction worker.  When he turned 21, he was no longer allowed on my insurance and could not afford his own. He had two accidents, one in which he was assaulted. Two hospital admissions and he is $50,000 in debt. He cannot get credit, buy a house, or a car.  He has had this debt since he was 23.  Many young people I know are in this situation or in its peril. They cannot afford health insurance but they live active lives that put them at risk. - Mary, TX