Americans spend more on health care than people do elsewhere, but somehow we spend more for less.
Most of us have no clue about the actual cost of our medical care until the bills arrive, because hospitals and doctors don’t publish their charges. The cost of insurance goes up and up, with fewer services covered. Millions of Americans needlessly suffer or die from preventable medical errors and infections.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Costs can come down and quality can improve if we stop letting the insurance companies run the show, make billing clear and simple, and focus on prevention and managing chronic illness better.
You can make a difference by taking our pledge and joining our effort to make health care a top priority for our nation’s leaders, no matter who wins the election.
THE PLEDGE:
I want to join with other Americans to support action, answers and accountability. It is time to:
Give my family security that we will have quality care when we need it at a cost we can afford;
Make hospitals and doctors more transparent about the cost and quality of care they offer;
Elmininate unnecessary bureaucracy between patients and the care they need;
End long waits for care;
Examine all solutions that will ensure all Americans access to quality, affordable care, with input from real people like me.
Sign pledge
We signed the pledge for higher quality, lower cost health care!
# 4,300:
9:39 am PDT, May 16,Karen Bates, New York
# 4,299:
9:22 am PDT, May 16,Debbie Butz, Illinois
# 4,298:
9:19 am PDT, May 16,Tammy Shueh, California
# 4,297:
9:16 am PDT, May 16,Name not displayed, California
I have been between jobs and had to purchase health as independent family-and that was way too costly for such lowsey coverage. Our son had to go to the hospital, and the 3 hour hospital visit will probably take us 2 years to pay off. This is something that we cannot afford now, and certainly couldn't afford NOT to be without health care. The coverage from most medical providers is really rediculous and I hope that this can certainly improve, as medical is a hugh issue in this country and Americans should be able to take care of themselves and their families no matter what is their financial status.
# 4,296:
9:12 am PDT, May 16,Johnny Shanks, Virginia
# 4,295:
9:08 am PDT, May 16,Méabh Fitzpatrick, Vermont
# 4,294:
8:55 am PDT, May 16,Guylaine Gélineau, Canada
# 4,293:
8:43 am PDT, May 16,Patti Sanders, Connecticut
# 4,292:
8:19 am PDT, May 16,Beth Miller, Texas
I want Doctors making decisions about my health care not insurance companies I want to know that the care I am getting or the medicine I am taking is because I need it not because it is more cost effective.
# 4,291:
8:11 am PDT, May 16,Willy Trippet, Texas
How is it that out of the world we pay the most and get the least? How is it that we are the only industrialized country without national universal healthcare? In any system there is a way for middle men to stick their fingers in the pie. Why kill us off when you need us to work for you and buy your cheap plastic consumer items?
# 4,290:
8:09 am PDT, May 16,Jean Rives, Texas
# 4,289:
7:59 am PDT, May 16,Rh Rawlings, California
# 4,288:
7:33 am PDT, May 16,Luisa Robles, Maryland
# 4,287:
7:30 am PDT, May 16,Brittney Lincoln, Florida
# 4,286:
7:26 am PDT, May 16,Lora Price, Colorado
# 4,285:
7:20 am PDT, May 16,Name not displayed, Greece
# 4,284:
7:09 am PDT, May 16,Cyd Greenwitch-Gutz, Minnesota
# 4,283:
6:52 am PDT, May 16,Vicki Turner, Pennsylvania
Health care should be more about prevention and not about all the drugs advertised on tv. It should be about fairness to family units no matter how they are made up - not about if they are in a "traditional" family or not. Health care should be affordable at some level for everyone and should be accountable for the quality it provides.
# 4,282:
6:41 am PDT, May 16,K Brantley, North Carolina
# 4,281:
6:33 am PDT, May 16,Sally Espinoza, Utah
# 4,280:
6:16 am PDT, May 16,Maritza Becerra, Florida
Good health is not a luxury, and it seems in this America today it is. People have health problems that they didn't want, yet the care is astronomically expensive, what to do next, die?
America is land of the free, and the greediness is destroying thousands of americans each day.
# 4,279:
5:44 am PDT, May 16,Enrique Lopez, Puerto Rico
# 4,278:
5:33 am PDT, May 16,Teri Giovia-smith, Florida
we are self employed and worry every day about whether or not something happens where we will need medical attention, whether it is a trip to the hospital or a prescription medication that is outrageously expensive. we need some handle on the costs now!
# 4,277:
5:30 am PDT, May 16,Don Goger, Kansas
# 4,276:
5:13 am PDT, May 16,Jessica Ohrt, Georgia
Good health care should be a right for all people not only the wealthy.
# 4,275:
4:53 am PDT, May 16,Claire Dunaway, Texas
# 4,274:
4:41 am PDT, May 16,Carolyn Robbins, New York
# 4,273:
4:38 am PDT, May 16,Kevin Knelman, Canada
In poll after poff the majority of Americans would like socialized medicine. When will the politicians start listening to the people?
# 4,272:
4:07 am PDT, May 16,Janis Ciofalo, New York
Healthcare these says is terrible. We need high quality, lost cost health care. With so many countries receiving free health (including Cuba) the United States is way behind in health care and would rather put another 163 billion dollars to fund more fighting in Iraq than to put it in free & lost cost health care for the American People!
# 4,271:
3:54 am PDT, May 16,Name not displayed, North Carolina
I pray that God will help us to create a system that will provide excellent care for ALL people!!
I urge everyone to continue to speak out about the need for lowering these cost and providing everyone with acess to care.
peace and power--J
# 4,270:
3:01 am PDT, May 16,Joan M Fay, Massachusetts
# 4,269:
2:31 am PDT, May 16,Michaël Dillen, Belgium
Although I am not an american I would really want that your healthcare system will be improved. That is a basic need and that is one of the services you pay taxes for. So the government has to provide a decent health care service( instead of pumping billions into weapons). Hopefully the next administration will take care of this urgent need. All my best wishes!!
# 4,268:
11:38 pm PDT, May 15,Patrishia Avery, California
I put in 50+hours and i can not afford health care.
# 4,267:
10:52 pm PDT, May 15,A Bradley, California
# 4,266:
10:14 pm PDT, May 15,Sheryl Hodges, California
# 4,265:
9:57 pm PDT, May 15,Gary M. Heymann, Ph.D., Arizona
# 4,264:
9:50 pm PDT, May 15,R C Wilson, New York
Single payer. the government, national health care for all citizens of all ages should be a right of citizenship. Let the killer insurance companies pander to the rich with house call doctors and other extras.
# 4,263:
9:20 pm PDT, May 15,Ethan Tauber, Georgia
# 4,262:
9:08 pm PDT, May 15,Lauren Pey, California
# 4,261:
8:44 pm PDT, May 15,Charlotte Sahnow, Oregon
All citizens have the right to affordable, accessible health care; why don't we???
# 4,260:
8:40 pm PDT, May 15,Carrie Harris, Alaska
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/hope-v--stability
# 4,259:
8:34 pm PDT, May 15,TRACY MOORE, North Carolina
Because as a single parent I can't AFFORD it! How come all the foreigners in OUR country and other countries receive the healthcare they need over US CITIZENS!!?? What happened to taking care of our own?? Geez, guess we are doing our best to maintain high cost insurance, but sadly most have NONE!!..We the REAL US BORN AND RAISED!have hardly NOTHING and some DON"T,while all our tax dollars WE worked for goes to NON US CITIZENS and foreigners. What a damn disapointment. Actually just DISGUSTED!
# 4,258:
8:20 pm PDT, May 15,Greg Malmberg, Washington
It is INHUMANE for the richest country to discriminate based upon class!
# 4,257:
8:11 pm PDT, May 15,Carly Goteiner, Massachusetts
# 4,256:
8:06 pm PDT, May 15,Valerie Davie, Canada
# 4,255:
8:03 pm PDT, May 15,Andrew Daniel, California
# 4,254:
7:57 pm PDT, May 15,Judy Frerichs, Nebraska
# 4,253:
7:45 pm PDT, May 15,Laura Dawson, North Carolina
As a health care provider, we need to have a full circle of economic flow in this economic system to provide better health services, and more patient education.
# 4,252:
7:26 pm PDT, May 15,James Meadows, Texas
# 4,251:
6:58 pm PDT, May 15,Robert C Richardson, California