On Friday we drove up the long driveway past the pond to Marty’s beautiful home in West Jefferson, Ohio, a rural hideaway outside of Columbus. It was hard to believe that the person lucky enough to live here could have trouble affording health care.

After 30 years as a veterinarian and owner of a local clinic, Marty put her business up for sale three years ago. She expected it to sit on the market for a couple of years, but when the clinic sold in a few months Marty found herself retired at 59 – and suddenly on her own for health insurance, still years away from Medicare.

Fast forward to today. The costs to keep her policy have gone through the roof. With a $550/month premium plus thousands in out-of-pocket costs, her retirement savings and assets are being bled off at an alarming rate. It’s nice to still have a cushion, sure. But what happens in the years ahead if her health care costs are already eating through that cushion so quickly?

It’s the reality of health care in America today – even people most would consider to be well-off are struggling to afford insurance and worry about just how far those monthly premiums and out-of-pocket costs will climb.

Said Marty, “Those of us who have been loyal and paid our dues for decades, but did not work for the government or a large corporation, are now feeling the pain. Medical insurance could very easily be the factor that will put me on public assistance for the first time in my life."

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