Share Your Story

We are collecting compelling personal stories from real people to show the breadth and scope of the problem with the current health care system. These real-world examples give us motivation to continue our work and inform the community about the complexity of this issue. Please share your own story with us!

Note that these stories will be publicly posted. We do request that no one copies, emails or otherwise distributes these stories without express permission of the authors, however. Certainly HCfA NC will not make any such use of posted stories without such permission. We DO RECOMMEND that stories be submitted with initials for all proper names (your own, the doctor or nurse's, the insurance company's). Note that we will automatically sign your entry with your initials and your city at the bottom.

Here's what you are saying:

I have a daughter who was born with a congenital heart defect. She takes care of herself, is involved in sports, we eat healthy foods, but it is not enough. She requires checkups, and will probably require surgery- again. I worry what will happen when she becomes an adult. Will she be able to get insurance? Will she be able to afford it? We need health reform now. It is never the wrong time to do the right thing.

[HCfA-NC: Stories such as this show the absurdity in targeting only universal coverage for children. At least they show part of the absurdity. Yes all children need full coverage, but all North Carolinians need it. We need an all inclusive system of care.]

KK
Hendersonville, NC

Uninsurance and Health Care Costs.

Since leaving corporate America, I have been denied REASONABLY PRICED insurance coverage because of a couple of chronic conditions:

1)Depression - having experienced a clinical episode and in possession of a profound genetic history, I will likely be on anti-depressants for life, and

2)COPD - hospitalized at 8 months pregnant for pulmonary distress resulted in an EXCELLENT Pulmonologist prescribing ongoing prescriptions, which have fundamentally solved my allergy/chronic bronchitis issues.

So I guess insurance companies don't want folks who need prescriptions. (To say the least.) However, my current issue is one of Health Care Costs. A short-lived Thyroiditis episode has required biannual lab tests. In addition, I pay a private physician for BHRT... which also requires lab tests.

When I visited my Endocrinologist's office for thyroid labs, I requested they add the GYN's tests (estradiol, FSH, free and total testosterone). I made the logical - but mistaken - assumption that it would be less expensive to combine the lab tests.

My Endocrinoligist's charges for his tests were $236:

• Office/Outpatient Visit E&M Estab No Phy: $55.00
• Collection of Venous Blood by Vein: $17.00
• Thyroxine; Free: $74.00
• Thyroid Stimulating Hormone: $90.00
• SUBTOTAL: $236.00
  
  
• My GYN passes on charges for his labs of $124. Here's the breakout from my Endocrinologist's office for those same tests:
• Estradiol: $194.00
• FSH: $127.00
• Testosterone (total): $179.00
• Testosterone (free): $249.00
• SUBTOTAL: $749.00
  
  
• TOTAL BILL: $985.00!!

TW
Charlotte, NC

I wanted to post an addendum to the post I submitted a while back. Our health insurance premium went up to $782 in April 2008. I can only imagine what it will go up to in October 2008. It goes up every six months. Our health insurance and associated costs eat up 30 percent of our budget.

JC
Asheboro, NC

Read All Stories