I have been influenced by the health care system in ways. At the age of nineteen I married my childhood sweetheart, Bill. He was older than me by only one year. I worked as he finished college and went to medical school. As Bill moved from medical school to his residency and to the practice of emergency room medicine I witnessed the disintegration of continuity of care and the escalation of costs. Bill continually fought for his patients. He was dismayed at the power that the corporate structure began to exercise over him and his patients.

Bill was diagnosed with viral encephalitis in 1987 and died in 1989. The health care policy he was covered under was one of the last high quality policies to be written. While he was sick the insurance company changed the coverage for me and our children. Fortunately, Bill’s coverage was very good. I think that they were afraid to discontinue him because of his profession. This would not be the case today. The medical insurance industry will slice and dice anyone they can. Doctors do not have the influence they used to.

Ten years ago I remarried a wonderful man. Ron and I started a new business together and had coverage under Kaiser. We were able to keep that coverage until the Dot Com Bust. We are in the illustration field with a specialty in 3d. Many of our clients went under. We had to let our health insurance go.

In early 2002 we found new insurance. Kaiser would not take us back due to preexisting conditions. During the next two years Ron had an intestinal bleed and open heart surgery. I had breast cancer twice. The health insurance company decided that my cancer was not covered at all because I had “lied” on my application about taking antidepressants. Actually, I wasn’t taking any but had been written a prescription that I never filled.

After Ron’s intestinal bleed and my first bout with breast cancer we were forced into bankruptcy. After the bankruptcy we both got sick again. This time I was covered by med-cal. Ron still had insurance. We found out after Ron’s bypass surgery that the insurance company intended to pay only 10% of his medical bills.

Suddenly, we owed $170,000 in medical bills and had already filed for bankruptcy. Mercy Hospital in Sacramento cut us a deal and let us pay them only 10% of the bill. We refinanced our house to do this. We refinanced our house three times to pay for either living expenses while sick or medical bills. (You can see how the medical care situation influenced the housing crisis.)

Ron has many of the vascular problems related to his need for by-pass surgery. He has no health insurance now. He will be 65 in 18 months and will be covered under medicare. We hope that he will not need to have surgery or expensive tests. Ron was in the E.R. just last week. We live with our fingers crossed.

The health care system has fallen from grace and become driven by extreme greed. There were always problems but as a young adult I used to think that things would get better. I have watched in horror as my government turned away from its citizens and worked with the financially powerful to put up barriers against effective, reasonably priced health care. I am now a health care reform activist.

Ron and I were supposed to be part of the town hall meeting with Obama this morning. We were supposed to be at the governor’s office in Sacramento to tell our story. The Sacramento meeting was canceled so I am telling my story here.

Thanks for listening. I am off to the hardware store to buy a pitchfork that I will stick in my front yard with an American flag on it. I am not giving up. Single Payer! Single Payer!