As listeners might be aware, I am currently a healthy American who is struggling to ensure continuity of coverage as I transition voluntarily from full-time employment with benefits to self-employment with an individual plan. The absurdity of the complications involved in staying with the same provider, albeit transitioning from a group plan to an individual plan, could not be greater.
A number of related items finally created the perfect storm for me this weekend, and I took action.
Congressman Cooper,
I have watched with admiration as you have persisted in encouraging your colleagues and your fellow Americans to give serious consideration to the Healthy Americans Act during this debate about healthcare reform. I gave it serious consideration, and I believe it is a strong bill.
Recently, though, three things have happened in my life that have caused me to write to you to ask you to support America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, HR 3200.
1. I recently elected to resign a full-time job that provided me with health insurance. I have a pre-existing medical condition, and I am now having difficulty insuring continuity of coverage. I must either wait to discover the whims of underwriters, likely past the point of expiration of my current coverage, or I must exercise my HIPAA rights, causing a dramatic increase in my premiums.
2. I saw Pres. Clinton and Vice Pres. Gore speak at the Jackson Day dinner here in Tennessee. Their remarks spoke powerfully to the need for healthcare reform now.
3. I read Sen. Kennedy’s statement about the HELP Committee’s passage of the Affordable Health Choices Act after his recent death, and I am convinced that he found it to be an acceptable final compromise for “the cause of his life”: universal healthcare for Americans.
I trust you to do all you can to strengthen this bill for American patients and would-be patients who are in dire need of health security. I know because I’m one of them.
Best regards and thank you for your service,
Freddie O’Connell
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