Written by: Dan Besse
5/21/2007

In Raleigh, a retired teacher at a private college told me of her shock when she learned that the school's plan would not continue to cover her, despite earlier assurances that it would. No private carrier would close the gap for her for less than $3,000 a month in premiums, well beyond her ability to pay. She told me of a close friend who faced a similar situation, and who learned that her breast cancer had recurred. In order to continue her cancer treatments until she could become eligible for Medicare, her friend paid more for the care each month than her total net income, sinking further into debt that she had no way to pay.

In Winston-Salem, a young small-business contractor told me that he pays $600 a month in health insurance premiums for his wife and small child. They have another child on the way now. What about coverage for himself, the family's financial support? No insurance, he said; he couldn't pay the extra cost.

In Mocksville, at the Davie County Democratic Women's meeting, a retired worker from up north said she was confident in her own insurance coverage, through her union. However, she told me that few of her friends in Davie (where she said that union was a "dirty word") were as sure about their own circumstances. Even the other retirees whose own coverage was reasonably solid worried about their adult children, their own drug costs, and the prospects for long-term care later in life.

As I continue this campaign, I am becoming ever more certain that we must make access to high-quality, affordable health care for all a public policy priority in North Carolina.

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