Hear My Story: Join the Effort to Get Congress to Hear Us on Healthcare

This past week, MOMocrats launched a series called Hear My Story, highlighting the personal stories of women who support health insurance reform because they know the existing system is broken. And they've fallen through the cracks--or come close--and survived to tell about it. It's direct, concrete experience, painful and difficult--filled with the kind of worries that make your nights sleepless and long. Maybe you can relate.

We believe that health care reform is a women's issue. Why? Because well-being and caregiving are so closely linked.

Like it or not, much of the burden of caregiving falls on the shoulders of women. We might have legal responsibility for an aged parent or a mentally or physically disabled sibling. We might be parents ourselves. Whether a single woman or partnered, we are there for our women friends and community members to support, encourage, comfort, celebrate, and rabble rouse together...keeping each other sane.

We invite our readers and friends to join this effort. We invite you to write your own story, in our comments or on your own blog and link back to us.  Leave a link to your blog in the comments, and we will link to it here.  When we've collected enough stories, we plan to send them to congressional leaders and anyone else who we think will listen.

Write your story, either in the comments here or on your blog. Grab the following button for your post, and be sure to leave a comment with your link in it:

<a href="http://momocrats.typepad.com/momocrats/"><img src="https://momocrats.typepad.com/hear.jpg/"> </a>

Know someone with a compelling story to tell? Ask them to join this effort, too.

We'll add your voices to the many who support healthcare reform in this country. Above the shouting and the made-for-TV drama, we believe that what remains are very human stories of people struggling to get the most basic necessity for themselves and their families--healthcare.  

Isn't it about time someone heard our stories?

Comments

[Judy Stiller]

I found this video on YouTube. I don't know what happened to Beth. Everyone against health care reform should have to watch this because, "Except for the grace of God go I"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gYTZakdG4k&feature=email

[Karoli]

Since I posted my own story here, I asked davidgs on Twitter if I could have permission to post and blog about his situation with his son, which is quite desperate. He was glad to let me. My post is here: http://www.drumsnwhistles.com/2009/08/21/woody-without-reform-he-may-starve/

I hope many others tell their stories too.

[Aviva Gabriel]

Beth is a 55-year-old mother of two girls. She's dying of terminal breast cancer, and may not live to see her girls graduate from high school. Unfortunately, Beth spends more time battling Blue Cross/Blue Shield than she does battling her disease. Here's her story, in her own words, on video:

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gYTZakdG4k
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I've spent several hours today reading blog comments written by Americans now living in the UK. These comments were almost unqualified in their praise for the NHS, particularly in relationship to their experiences with healthcare in the USA. The contrast between British and American medicine (health care) is...vast. In far too many cases, insured patients in the U.S. are told, "We don't cover that," even in situations like Beth's, where Blue Cross can arbitrarily refuse to pay for her medically-necessary treatment -- despite her years of premium payments to Blue Cross.

Beth's plight is heartbreaking. It's appalling to hear what's being done to Beth (and her daughters) in the name of "American medicine," allegedly one of the world's finest healing systems (but only for those on government-subsidized programs like Medicare, those who represent us in the House and Senate, those who are federal employees, and those who otherwise have exceptional wealth, power, or influence).

I feel powerless, knowing that I have little-to-no influence over whether or not health insurance reform gets passed during Obama's presidential term -- or whether or not my taxes will subsidize grossly-undeserving corporations and their executive leadership. Further, I'm not encouraged by the Congressional shenanigans taking place around healthcare reform. I have no real representation in Washington, and I cannot waltz into the White House and represent myself. So, now what?

Nor am I encouraged by the mass insanity that seems to have invaded the hearts and minds of so many frightened U.S. citizens, many of them over 65 years of age, many faced with hugely shrunken assets (retirement savings shedding 35-50% of their value, houses shedding an average of 25% of their value) during this Great Recession.

Those who lost assets in the last quarter of 2008 were the fortunate ones; many "middle class" or "working poor" citizens of the U.S. will never earn enough income, despite full-time employment, to accrue retirement savings or equity in a home.

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Watch Beth, an insured, full-time employee, and 55-year-old mother of two daughters, diagnosed with terminal breast cancer -- despite five years of "medical care" -- which had long been severely compromised as a result of limitations imposed by her medical insurance -- tell how she has been arbitrarily denied coverage for her breast cancer, even after years of paying premiums to Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and despite endless hours spent in formal and informal appeals processes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gYTZakdG4k
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[Meghan Harvey]

Here is MY story. I decided to become self-employed so I could be home with my kids and I've been paying for that choice, literally, ever since, http://megger1018.blogspot.com/2009/08/hear-my-story-why-i-need-health-care.html

[susan blatt]

Not specifically related to the issue of healthcare reform, but as a principal and longtime advocate of children's intellectual growth and well-being, I have a question. Do you genuinely believe that "Raising the Next Generation of Blue" is a valid goal for child rearing? So often in our school and others, children parrot the words and philosophies of their parents when questions arise of which they do not have a complete understanding. They lack the ability to see something from another point of view. They are unable to analyze. They cannot debate. They are sorely missing the higher order cognitive skills to assess and make judgements. Educators are trained to not impose values but to encourage students to internalize their own. Unless you are homeschooling the thought that you are intending to impose political/philosophical decisions upon children is counter productive to what we know to be necessary in devloping all quadrants of the mind. Can you possibly trust that as educated people with highly devloped thinking skills your children will eventually make the right choice for themselves? I, and many others, certainly hope so.

[d]

While I'm not a mother currently, I do hope to be (once I've saved enough leave to do it), and as someone over 35, that means a high-risk pregnancy. I've had enough experiences through 5 knee surgeries over 12 years and a fair number of dental issues, crossing periods where I was barely covered, wasn't covered due to pre-existing conditions, and back again, to know that I am extremely fortunate to have federal health insurance. I am not alone in saying that my health insurance very much influences my job decisions. I am fortunate enough to really love what I do, but part of me would love to go out into the private sector for awhile and try different things. But as things stand with our medical system in the U.S., there is no way I would do it.
Here is my healthcare story and contribution to thoughtful debate: http://hausaufgoblin.blogspot.com/2009/08/we-interrupt-this-blog-part-2-health.html

[Erin Cochran]

This is a fantastic initiative. As a woman who works on the Hill, I applaud this innovative project!

[Moira]

My story isn't fancy or truly sad, like many I read. But I am a 30 year old woman who graduated from college in May with my bachelors degree in nursing. The only insurance I could get while in school was horrid, leaving me with a 400+ dollar bill for a pap smear, and me fighting for coverage. In Philadelphia, with this crappy economy, I can not find a job. So I am now uninsured, can't get private insurance because I take medicine for insulin resistance and depression. Oh and I am fat, so NO insurance company will cover me. Nice!

[Jason]

This is a great site that you have here. I have a site myself where anyone can freely express their opinions on controversial debate topics.

Please check out my site when you get the chance, and if you can provide us with some insight, feel free, because DEBATEitOUT.com is where anyone can have their voice heard, 24/7.

[cynematic]

Susan Blatt,
Yes, I do believe that "Raising the Next Generation of Blue" is a valid endeavor. Although you know what? I hope I fail. I hope he grows up Green instead, or whatever the most progressive party is of the future.

Just look at what the GOP is now--narrow, hate-filled, reliant on blind faith instead of rationality, beholden to tokenism instad of true diversity, UNABLE TO OFFER REASONABLE POLICY ALTERNATIVES WHEN NOT IN OFFICE, mistaking jingoism/xenophobia for true patriotism, indulgent of a double standard for adulterous GOP elected representatives but hypocritically shrill about the foibles of Democrats, a drooling lackey to corporate interests, content to rape the planet and her resources in total denial of global climate crisis, and nostalgic for some imaginary yesteryear prior to the Civil Rights era, the women's movement, or gay/lesbian rights.

Did I mention lying to start a unilateral pre-emptive war and then torturing people to manufacture confessions to support the original lie?

I. Could. Go. On.

Consider this a full-throated defense of liberalism, and liberalism as *a* time-honored path toward social justice. And a condemnation of what the GOP has become--the standard-bearer for selfishness, might-makes-right, greed, religious and racial intolerance, homophobia, and retrograde gender roles and expectations. There appears to be no concern for social justice over at the GOP. They're welcome to rejoin polite society when they do make it a priority.

I was raised by educators and trained to teach at the college level, so I'm well aware that if people had decent educations and critical thinking skills, they wouldn't be saying factually incorrect things like "Government keep your hands off my Medicare," "Tax cuts alone can reduce the deficit," "Death panels would have killed my baby," or "Obama's birth certificate isn't real." This sophistry is bullshit.

Contrary to simple-minded mass media, every issue does not have an "opposite" side. Most issues have *many* sides, some of which overlap, others of which are in competition.

Party affiliation isn't the sole thing; the most important thing I'll teach my child is that while he is entitled to his own opinions and interpretations of facts, he is NOT entitled to his own facts. I'm leaving him my bullshit detector in my will. I trust him to be well-equipped to evaluate the facts of life he'll face as an adult, and have the values to live wisely and mindfully.

Ahem. Everyone, back to your regularly scheduled programming. Please do contribute your experiences with getting health care to "Hear My Story."

[princess]

the hel with heath care at this point there is more to think about here ! what about the mothers out here in our own wahington dc getting their children taken away its so unfair you ar all thinking about the wrong crap we have our troops over there in another country while we are arguing over heath care dude so not cool you all are fighting the wrong cause here well im sorry to burt your bubbles but medical centers have no choice but to see us when there is a huge problem but we have judges out here that are simply signing off on affidavits just because someone says they think there is chld abuse and they don't do no investigations they just take our children and leave look up nancy hey's story you will see type in under google nancy hey and you will se where there is child trafficking going on right here in our country now tell me that not something worth fighting for? i do't kno about you all but you need to stop cps from ruing ouir children lives and also realize hat a child goes through when placed in foster care they can get raped hurt hospitalized and even worse death dont let this be your child stop these devil in sheep clothing togther we can make a diffrence!one child at a time !