This Wednesday, about 50 Mainers gathered outside of Senator Snowe's Bangor office to deliver the message: Maine can no longer wait for heath insurance reform. With them, our activists brought over 35,000 letters, postcards, emails, and online petitions from all over the state, urging Senator Snowe to pass health insurance legislation as soon as possible. By delivering these letters, our supporters and activists are sharing what many Mainers already know: delaying health insurance reform means higher costs and less coverage for our families. The crushing cost of our current health insurance system makes it impossible to strengthen our economy. With families and small businesses struggling to make ends meet because of the enormous burden of medical bills, we cannot afford to wait another day for the reform that we need.
Senator Snowe was not the only one who heard our message. The front page of the Bangor Daily News featured an article with pictures of our activists and the headline, "Health care reform fans blitz Snowe with 35,000 messages." In the article, they talked to activist Jim Hooper about his health care horror story:
Jim Hooper of Hermon said he learned that lesson 14 years ago when his son was born premature, which required three months of hospitalization. Hooper's employer-provided insurance policy stipulated that he would be responsible for only $1,500 in co-pays per year -- or so he thought. When more than $100,000 in hospital bills came in, Hooper realized that he was liable for about $20,000 with his insurance paying the rest."It took me several years to pay that off," he told reporters. "If people are happy with their private health insurance, they haven't had to make a claim yet."
Another activist whose story was featured in the news was local doctor Karen Hover. You can see her segment on WABI news here. Dr. Hover's own experience treating uninsured Mainers is what prompted her to fight for health insurance reform:
"Well we have 47 million patients that are uninsured in the country and that's way to many. People shouldn't be falling through the cracks. What bothers me is that simples things don't get treated. There are many diseases which are not that expensive to treat which are not getting taken care of because of the lack of insurance."
With similar delivery events planned in Caribou, and to Congressman Michael Michaud's office in Lewiston, we are doing all we can to make sure our message is heard. With your help, we will continue to fight for the reform that must happen so that all Mainers have the peace of mind that comes with quality, affordable health coverage, and the freedom to live their lives without sickness and fear.
