MaryAnne BrooksI turn 67 this March. Two years ago I went to my doctor’s office and was told that I needed a lung transplant. I suffer from Chronic Pulmonary Obstructive Disease (COPD), and emphysema.

In 1999, after countless doctor’s visits, I was diagnosed with COPD and the doctors told me that the worse case scenario would be a lung transplant. They knew that I quit smoking in December of 1997 so there wasn’t much more that I could do to improve my health on my own. As time went on my health progressively got worse. I went from using oxygen when I needed it to help me breathe better, to needing it all the time – I am now permanently attached to my oxygen cord. The change happened almost overnight.

That day in the doctor’s office, after he gave me the bad news - the worst possible case scenario, he reviewed my chart and asked me how old I was. I had just turned 65. He told me that 65 is the insurance cut off age for a lung transplant. I began to cry, I couldn’t have imagined that it would be this bad. There was nothing more the doctor could do for me. If I were rich I could go to another country and have the operation, but that is not an option for me.

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Gerry Messler

For three years I have worked as a security officer for Hannon Security. Hannon only offers two health insurance plans to their employees. One is a comprehensive plan for management, and one is a bare-bones plan for officers that one manager calls the “Better Than Nothing” Plan.

When I was hospitalized for three days with chest pains, I found out that the officers’ plan wasn’t much better than nothing. As I got ready to leave the hospital, I learned that the bare-bones plan covered only a fraction of my bill.

I don’t make a lot of money guarding the office building of a major insurance company. At 63, a huge hospital bill could have ruined me financially. Fortunately, the hospital wrote off as “charity care” the majority of my bill that the Hannon bare-bones plan didn’t cover.

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Aleta TaalI am a single mom with a teenager. Last year, my son Ryan developed Strep throat. We were both uninsured at the time. I was afraid without treatment the

Strep throat would progress to rheumatic fever. I took him to the hospital where the $349 visit included three prescriptions I needed to fill. Forced to choose, I used my rent money to pay for Ryan’s prescriptions. The decision cost an additional $75 late fee for my rent, but what was I to do? You have a sick kid and you have to spend your rent money.

Now Ryan has insurance, but I still don't.

I recently had oral surgery. Unfortunately, the dental work became infected. Without money for the antibiotic, I spent countless sleepless nights in pain treating it with salt water.

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