The Need for Public Option or Single Payer

My Republican friends don't understand why I strongly support Public Option or Single Payer, so I am taking this time to explain.

First, my stepdaughter has been battling Hodgkins Lymphoma for a couple years now. She has no insurance and my husband and I are unable to help her. The only reason she's been able to get help is that a local foundation for people with cancer paid for her care while helping her obtain a state medical card.

Second, my stepdaughter's fiance wound up in intensive care with a ruptured esophagus and electrolyte imbalance. He is unemployed and therefore uninsured.

I come third. I have a disability and am unable to work. My disability check is small and leaves me with the choice of paying my bills or paying co-pays for medication. I cannot get insurance due to price and pre-existing conditions. Medicare is not a good option because the donut hole would strangle me. I don't have the money to get through that period.

Fourth, my husband wants to retire. He runs himself ragged dealing his his special education students and comes home completely wiped out. We know he cannot continue at this pace, but we depend on job for the insurance benefit. He cannot afford to buy insurance for us after retiring, so he perseveres with his job.

Not that long ago, I needed a life-saving surgery while I had different insurance coverage. The insurance company insisted the surgery was elective and refused to approve it. My lips were blue and I had almost no voice, my heart was seriously compromised. I was dieing. Finally, the surgeon prevailed in his battles with my insurer. He was the only one in the entire state capable of doing the procedure, but the company balked because the hospital was out of network. Lord bless that medical man because he told me, "you've got to have this done NOW. Don't worry. I'll deal with the insurance company and hospital and I'll accept out-of-network benefits." Due to his persistence, I can write this eight years after the fact.

That's only my family. There are millions more families in this country who currently struggle due to pre-existing conditions, inadequate coverage, or an inability to obtain insurance. My voice is but one among the many. We need Single Payer or Public Option. We believe that the co-op is a cop out. Make your voices heard.

Gayl Caul