Turns out that no one - not even a doctor - is immune to outrageous premiums and denial for pre-existing conditions.
Savings account drained, Cindy and her daughters teeter on the edge of living uninsured.
Kim is used to taking on the giants in the pharmaceutical world in the fight for safer drugs. But she was blindsided by another giant - her own insurance company - and found herself in a battle to keep her health insurance.
This young couple goes uninsured but does whatever they can to make sure daughter Fiona stays covered.
Kifah in Chicago Ridge, IL, mother of two, had a financial decision to make about the international birth of her second son.
We arrived in St. Paul after a few days' drive from Denver, barely recovered from the DNC but looking forward to a packed week of events at the RNC...
For Patricia and Maria, focusing on the needs of their own kids - and other peoples' - means making sacrifices when it comes to their own health care.
Mike and his family put their lives into running a small business, but all that hard work still doesn't add up to affordable health care.
Starting her own practice has meant a better life and lower stress for Bobbie. But the trade-off is figuring out how to pay for her health care.
While in Austin, Texas a few weeks back we sat down with Judith and learned that we aren’t the first ones to travel far and wide for better health care. After being diagnosed with breast cancer, osteoporosis, and mild depression Judith found that the prescriptions she needed were unaffordable even with insurance. This left her with only a few options: forego the medicine entirely, cut the pills in half, or look to other countries for help.
Although excited for their second child, the daunting maternity costs are forcing this family to come up with a new strategy for dealing with the bills to come
Jeff in Billings, MT describes himself as a little bit of a risk taker. It's a philosophy he applies to his business ventures, as well as his health care coverage.
Ken retired at age 62 in part because he was worried about the stability of Social Security and wanted to get his piece of the pie while there was still some left. But health insurance was another issue entirely. Three years away from Medicare, Ken had to find coverage for him and his wife. Like many of the folks we have met on the Cover America Tour, the options he found were simply unaffordable.
A career in teaching has meant years of struggling for health coverage
Two weeks ago, we attended the Netroots blogger conference in Austin, TX., a four-day gathering of more than 2,000 bloggers in the heart of the Lone Star State.
From taking - or not taking - jobs to getting married, more and more people are making life decisions based on the ability to get health insurance
Health care costs are forcing this family to cut corners in ways they've never had to before
At 50 years old, Matt Herman sold his beer distributorship and retired early. Now he says he just enjoys life through daily golf outings and quality time with his daughter. It’s no secret that he’s done very well for himself - retiring at 50 is out of reach for most Americans. But that doesn’t mean the health care system is working for him. As we’ve traveled the country this summer it’s become clear that people at almost all income levels are having trouble obtaining decent and affordable health insurance.
Two families just across the Mississippi River from each other tell surprisingly similar stories
With a big smile and warm Oklahoma welcome Janne showed us into her home last week. There were no outward signs of the pain and suffering she has lived with every day for 10 years now.
Health insurance just isn't an option for this violin teacher.
When it comes to health care, this big state faces big problems
John had never second guessed that his insurance would be there when he needed it most
Loss or injury of a loved one by medical errors unites a group of committed, passionate advocates in the fight for better care
A hospital-acquired infection takes its toll on a whole family.
We waved goodbye to Dave and Betty and climbed back into the RV, our arms full of goodie bags packed with fruit, snacks and Betty's sour cream chocolate bundt cake
After watching his annual insurance premiums nearly double in just three years, Michael from Abingdon, VA says he was fed up.
Living with a chronic illness - and no insurance - through the eyes of MI residents Michelle, Lawrence, Rosemary and Laurel
The kids are on state-assisted medical benefits, and her husband’s fully covered through his job. Jessica, a 32-year-old stay-at-home mom, is the only one in this Elkhart, Indiana family of six who doesn’t have health insurance.
When 33-year-old Diyon and her husband adopted a child earlier this year, they quickly learned some demoralizing news. The only way to cover the new expenses related to their new son Jayden's multiple health conditions was for her to leave her job and for the family to shed some of it’s limited assets to qualify Jayden for Medicaid. In the process, the family went from a combined income of over $65,000 to filing for bankruptcy within a few months.
Uninsured families in Detroit rely on the Cabrini Clinic for care that would otherwise be out of reach.
Laurel developed epilepsy, had to stop working, and paid for COBRA insurance coverage until it ran out. Individual coverage is too expensive.
Peter had to make the "economic decision" not to get his thumb reattached after an accident. Every day, he looks at his hand and wishes he could have made a different choice.
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.
Five months into pregnancy with her first child, Tina began receiving big bills from her insurance company – but hadn’t they assured her that her policy included maternity coverage?
Nicole’s credit card bill skyrockets every September – time for back to school clothes and the annual check-up at the doctor for her two girls. Clothes, sure. But doctor visits? Since they can’t afford health coverage, she says, “My Visa is my insurance card.”
When a company decides to “cut costs”, it’s the human resources department that is invariably stuck with doing the dirty work of hacking away at the health plan. But as premiums and deductibles go up, they go up for everyone – even HR managers.
We pulled out of Consumers Union headquarters in Yonkers, NY, on a high, and who wouldn’t. A cloudless sky, a parking lot full of friends and colleagues hugging us goodbye, a whole summer ahead of us cruising around America in an RV. Who wouldn’t want to start a summer like that?
It’s hard for most people to imagine getting diagnosed with cancer. Now imagine what it would be like to have beaten back cancer not just once, but three times – and then losing your health insurance.
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