Health Care Story of the Week - 10/8/09

Every week we post a health care story, and this week we share three! Some of these stories were shared at a rally held this week in front of the Blue Cross/ Blue Shield office in Nashville. TJC is partnering with other non-profits to show how the current system is failing many Americans, and why reform is urgently needed. Among the flaws that need to be fixed are the lack of coverage for people with serious health problems and the un-affordability of coverage for many small businesses and working families. Here are the stories of three of our fellow Tennesseans:


Mark runs a sawmill business in McMinnville. The insurance company has upped the price tag on his employees’ health insurance by 100% since 2001, putting health care among the company’s top expenses. “I don’t want to drop their insurance, because they’re my friends. I grew up with them,” he says. Mark is in a very difficult position; he must choose to either put more of an economic burden on his workers or drop their insurance to save the business and their jobs.

Beth of Blountville is 26 and has a rare, but treatable vascular disease. Since she had to quit her job as a general manager at a restaurant in order to manage her illness, she lost her employer-sponsored health insurance. No private health insurance company will touch her and she is not eligible for Medicaid. With her medical bills totaling six figures, Beth’s only hope is a public option.


Earl, 54, of Dickson received a successful heart transplant 12 years ago. Medicaid saved his life when private insurers denied him coverage. Now, he’s being dropped from Medicaid. Earl cannot afford the daily medications that keep his heart beating and relies on a spotty safety net to stay alive.

If you want to attend future rallies and forums in support of health care reform, be sure to visit our Facebook page.

Dean Andrews, who contributed to this piece, is a TJC intern, focusing on legal research and public information.