I get up at 4:30 every morning, and catch the bus an hour later, all for a job with a company that provides zero health care; My income is low enough that I qualify for a sliding scale plan through my county hospital, where I can go to the clinic for non-emergency issues. The clinics aren't open on the weekends, so I might have to miss work to go. I pay for supplemental hospitalization insurance out of my own pocket. I am able to obtain my anti-depressant medication through a county run mental health clinic system. So even though I have a full time job, I still must go through public assisted agencies for health care.

I have a hearing loss for which I wear hearing aids, provided to me by a state run rehabilitation agency. A week after President Obama's election (for whom I campaigned vigorously), I attended a victory party. I lost one of my hearing aids on the public bus ride home so I immediately began the process of obtaining new hearing aids. Finally at the end of April, I received new aids, after submitting to the same audiological exams I've taken many times, with the same results (my hearing loss has remained at the same level). I had to miss an entire day of work, for which I was not paid, to go through this process. So while it took me over five months to receive new hearing aids, I am thankful for these new ones.

I am thankful I have agencies I can turn to for my health care, but it's exhausting. I just wish I could obtain decent, affordable health care that meets all my needs. I would be willing to pay on a sliding scale for this very sort of health care, provided for me by the federal government. I'm an American citizen and I LOVE my country. I work a full time job and I pay income taxes.

Please President Obama and Congress, we need decent, affordable, easy to use health care. Please don't forget about people like me.

Well said, David. You made so many great points that apply to so many hardworking Americans, just like you.

A person who works a full-time job should be paid enough to have health insurance. Clinics should be open during hours that are convenient for their users. If they were, the emergency rooms might be a little more open for true emergencies. And think of the money that would be saved if people could be treated in neighborhood clinics. And to think that someone, who has been deaf (David corrects me, and I apologize, he is hearing impaired, not deaf - moderate to moderately severe is the classification) since birth, should have to wait 5 months to get a hearing test so he could get a replacement hearing aid is beyond belief. I watched him struggle to hear for 5 months. Imagine the impact on you if you suddenly couldn't hear and there was nothing to be done for 5 months.

David lives very frugally. He has no car. He lives in a very modest apartment. And he doesn't splurge on expensive items. He works fulltime even though he is disabled. Let's fix this system so that everyone gets access to quality healthcare.

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive