Thank you for sharing Sharon's story with so many people. It's a shame that this can happen in what is considered to be the greatest country on earth. And it's a subject that's near and dear to my heart. I've been working for 40 yrs., and for the last 20 yrs. I've been self-employed as a singer/entertainer. Being self-employed is hard enough when it comes to a reliable income, but in the entertainment industry it's ten times as difficult. Add to that the fact that I have no one else's income on which to rely, and the thought of just getting a cold scares me to death. I can't afford to get the flu, much less (God forbid) any kind of devastating illness. The way things are right now, I don’t even go to the doctor if there’s any way to avoid it. Not only is it the cost of the visits and who knows what tests will be ordered, but I’m afraid of having any type of serious illness diagnosed. One reason is I couldn’t afford the treatment, but also because if I were to apply for insurance at some point, I wouldn’t want to have a ‘pre-existing condition‘.

A friend of mine who was an awesome saxophone player and a wonderful person, died about 6 years ago after being rushed to the ER with severe abdominal pain. He was diagnosed with a bleeding ulcer, but because he had no insurance he was sent home with more or less a band-aid kind of treatment. He died later that evening as his 10 yr. old son watched. He was in his 40’s. He did not deserve to die that way, nor does anyone.

Something needs to be done and soon. All the fighting between parties is not helping any of us and is not accomplishing anything but wasting time, and in some cases it could be costing lives.

I wish the people in office would just stop all their bickering and try, just once, to think about someone other than themselves and come up with a plan to address healthcare for everyone. I don’t want to die because I can’t afford to stay alive!

Ginger!