Nevada Medicaid Kills Eric De La Cruz

[Guest Veronica De La Cruz]

I want to tell you about my only sibling, my brother Eric De La Cruz.

 

Diagnosed with Severe Dilated Cardiomyopathy five years ago and in need of a heart transplant, my brother Eric passed away far too early this July 4th. All because the health care insurance system in the United States is broken.

 

Click here to attend an event to support real reform - reform with a public health insurance option that prohibits discrimination or denial based on pre-existing conditions. We need to tell Congress to get it done.

 

You see, unlike most of us (but like millions of others), Eric couldn't get private insurance. His employer didn't offer it as a benefit. And his heart condition, while treatable, was a pre-existing condition that no private insurers would cover. Sadly, there was no affordable, public option to protect Eric. So he remained excluded from the basic right to life-saving treatment that all people deserve. Although a heart transplant would save him, without coverage, Eric's condition needlessly and slowly deteriorated.

 

People don't realize how vulnerable they are to the devastating costs - both in dollars and in human life - of an insurance industry concerned with one thing: profit. As a TV journalist and correspondent, I've enjoyed a public platform few have, but when it came to the health and well-being of my family, I'm as susceptible as everyone else. Despite a national online campaign and celebrity fund-raising that amassed nearly $1 million, and emotional and political support from thousands of strangers, Eric couldn't beat this broken system. If it can happen to us, with all of THAT support, it truly can happen to anyone. In fact, sadly, it IS happening to thousands all over the country right now.

 

After Eric's death, I went to Washington this August. I met in the offices of many Senators and Representatives to ask why there is even a debate about passing a strong health care reform bill that would provide all Americans with affordable, guaranteed health care coverage - a bill that would help control the spiraling health care costs that are bankrupting countless families and forcing people to choose between their money and their lives.

 

Everyone on Capitol Hill was sympathetic to Eric's story, and most were supportive of legislation including a strong public option, but few seem convinced the American people would lean hard enough on Congress to make sure it happened. We must convince them now.

 

At this critical time, we need you to stand up for reform that would have benefited my brother Eric, and the thousands just like him who are waiting for help now. Click here to attend an event in your area and help win reform now.

 

In fighting for Eric's life, thousands of people joined forces to get him on Medicare, get him into a transplant facility and raise enough money to pay for his treatment. He just ran out of time. But the clock has not stopped for you.

 

Though Eric has passed away, he has not been silenced. Your voice can make the difference. By simply clicking on any of the links in this email, you'll help ensure what happened to Eric doesn't happen to your friend, your brother, your neighbor...or you.

 

Please don't forget your insurance can disappear when you least expect it, because insurance companies CAN rescind policies. If you get sick and don't have insurance now, insurance companies CAN deny you coverage for a pre-existing condition. If you get sick tomorrow, your life can be turned upside down because of your failing health AND runaway medical bills that can force you into bankruptcy. I know you think this could never happen to you. But it can. It happened to us.

 

We need to get a simple message to Senators: Join with the majority of Americans to support an affordable public option to lower costs, keep insurance companies honest and include everyone, regardless of pre-existing conditions or income.

 

At this critical time, can you help support reform that the American people want and need?

 

Help put a stop to these injustices.

 

Fight to make a difference, not just for you, but for future generations.

 

Thank you,

 

Veronica De La Cruz

[Guest Orlando]

This makes me sick to my stomach. The insurance companies don't deliver one iota of health care to patients. They are middlemen crooks who skim off a chunk of every health care dollar that passes through their hands.

[Guest Patricia]

I am with you Veronica

 

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/03/05/poll-do-americans-want-government-health-care-reform/

 

Seventy-two percent of those questioned in recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey say they favor increasing the federal government's influence over the country's health care system in an attempt to lower costs and provide health care coverage to more Americans, with 27 percent opposing such a move. Other recent polls show six in 10 think the government should provide health insurance or take responsibility for providing health care to all Americans.

[Guest Harrison]

National surveys show that the primary reason people are uninsured is because health insurance is too expensive.

 

Economists have found that rising health care costs correlate to drops in health insurance.

 

Nearly one-quarter (23 percent) of the uninsured reported changing their way of life significantly in order to pay medical bills.

 

Almost 50 percent of the American public says they are very worried about having to pay more for their health care or health insurance.

 

42 percent report they are very worried about not being able to afford health care services.

 

source: National Coalition on Health Care

[Guest George]

I am with you Veronica,

Basic health care in the US is overpriced and the quality is mediocre at best.

[Guest Mickey]

The time has come for a change in HealthCare! We support you Veronica and the #PublicOption!

 

It's about saving human lives!

[Guest Tim]

We need change and need it now.

 

Stories like Eric's are all the proof that our leaders should need to get behind health care reform. Tragic outcomes such as Eric's are preventable in a humane society that places human life above profit. Let's figure out a way to get it done, like a public option, and stop wasting time catering to those who are vested in the status quo.

 

The status quo is killing us. Anyone in Congress standing in the way of creating and passing legislation that meets Obama's basic principles, and the wishes of the public, should start looking for a new job.

 

You have all my support in getting this message through to Congress and the White House.

[always red]

Do you think the insurance company would sell you an insurance policy in the middle of a fire destroying your house? It's the same thing as when you have a preexisting medical condition and you want to be insured for it.

[Guest Human]

Red; The Republicans are for it, and so am I "Pre-Existing Coverage", but not for universal Health care.

 

What we need is a United States solution for a United States problem, and like my fellow Republicans we ALL believe in COMPETITIVE CARE.

 

With the Democrats it's One Size fits all "Whether you like it or not".

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Do you think the insurance company would sell you an insurance policy in the middle of a fire destroying your house? It's the same thing as when you have a preexisting medical condition and you want to be insured for it.