Robert Lee HardyWhen I graduated from college in May 2005, I had no idea that things would get as rough as they have. I was immediately dropped from my mother’s insurance, which only covered me up until my graduation. Faced with the pressures of entering the world of independent adulthood, I jumped right into the workforce as an Event Coordinator and Administrative Assistant at the historic Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute and Cultural Center. Unfortunately, they do not even offer a health care plan.

It wasn’t much of an issue to me at the time. I figured I’m young, healthy, and in shape. I thought I’d be alright for at least two or three years or until I could find a job that has benefits.

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Rose TaylorI’m no stranger to the health care crisis facing so many of us. Since 1987 I have been fighting to receive the care I am entitled to.

Like so many of my family, my husband was in the military. After leaving the Air Force, he passed away in 1987. Without him, our military health insurance disappeared. Shortly afterwards, I suffered a stroke.

Due to the complications of my stroke, I was forced to retire from the Maryland Alliance for Responsible Investment. The Alliance offered her healthcare, but due to an enormous clerical oversight, all of my insurance funds were misappropriated to different departments.

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Ewan SchmidI’m just one of the nearly 46 million Americans without health insurance. At 24 years old, I am also one of the millions of young people in this country that are without health coverage. Unlike many others, I have made the personal decision to not have health insurance. Instead of scraping pennies together to pay out of control costs for limited access, I work to maintain my health through diet, exercise, and education. I learned that from my father, a general contractor from Bloomington, Indiana. Like my dad, I never suffered any childhood ailments, and was lucky enough to never have a reason to visit a hospital. I know my situation is very different from others’; what is right for me might not be right for everyone.

In 2005 my father was diagnosed with lymphoma. That was when my perception of our health care system began to change. The man I had looked to for advice about health my whole life was now sick. I’m still in the process of dealing with it. Here was a man who was never sick, who did everything right to protect his health, and all of a sudden, he has cancer.

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