The health reform

Från:
President Barack Obama (info@barackobama.com)
Skickat:
den 17 mars 2010 17:46:02
Till:
Stig Ostlund (stig.ostlund@hotmail.com)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stig---Natoma Canfield is like most of us: She works hard, and tries to do what's right. Years ago, she had battled back from cancer, so she always maintained health insurance in case she ever really needed it again. But because of her medical history, the insurance company kept raising her deductible and her premiums.Last year alone, Natoma paid over $10,000 in monthly premiums and co-pays, while her insurance company chipped in just $900. And then they hiked up her rates another 40%. She simply couldn't afford it -- she had to cancel her policy. That's when she wrote to me. I read her letter, and shared her story with insurance company CEOs as another reason why the system has to change.That was two weeks ago. Then, just last week, the unthinkable happened: Natoma collapsed, and was rushed to a hospital. It's leukemia -- the cancer has returned. Now she's in the hospital, worried sick not just about her condition, but how she'll financially survive.So why am I still in this fight? Simple. I'm here for Natoma.I'm here because of the countless others who have been denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions. I'm here for the small business owners forced to chose between health care and hiring. I'm here for the folks who are forced to watch helplessly as their premiums skyrocket with no reason or recourse.And I'm here for my mother. She died of cancer, and in the last six months of her life, I saw her on the phone in her hospital room arguing with insurance companies instead of focusing on getting well and spending time with her family.As I was finishing my remarks Monday, a woman in the crowd called out, "we need courage." She's right.The politicians in Washington need courage to face down the powerful interests who have held back progress for far too long. And all of us who share this cause need courage to speak up with persistence and clarity in these final days.I've always found that courage comes from remembering that we fight for something and someone beyond ourselves. It comes from our faith. And it comes from our commitment to those we love.So please take a moment to remember those who inspire you -- those who give you the strength to march on.There's very little time left, and still much to do.--/Thank you , President Barack Obama