Health Care Story – Lee and Marcia Currier

My name is Marcia Currier and my husband is Lee Currier. We’ve been married for 40 years and have always lived in Londonderry, New Hampshire. We have two grown sons and four grandchildren. We share our home with our two dogs, Gwyneth Rose and Chloe Louise, and two cats, Margaret Mary and Dylan Thomas. My husband is a self-employed carpenter with minimal health insurance coverage.

By minimal, I mean that it is really a catastrophic illness policy with a deductible of $25,000. So Lee doesn’t see a doctor for any preventative care, lab work, routine physicals or other general health care maintenance because the cost is prohibitive. Luckily, he’s a very healthy man. The last time he did see a doctor, though, he was told his cholesterol was quite high so the doctor put him on a cholesterol-lowering medication. Having no prescription coverage and given the high cost of the medicine, that didn’t last long. Lee no longer takes it. Instead, we try to do the best we can by watching his diet and keeping physically active.

During this time of the year my husband’s work load is pretty good so he can make the insurance payments without too much difficulty. However, as winter gets closer, work drops off and so does the income. It’s just a matter of time before he will have to cancel his current health care policy just as he did the others. There just isn’t anything out there that is affordable for self-employed people … or any people for that matter!

I am on Social Security disability due to back problems and fibromyalgia. I have Medicare insurance, Part A and Part B. I can’t afford supplemental insurance to pick up what Medicare doesn’t cover. I have no prescription drug coverage either. I do have a discount prescription card which I paid for, and that entitles me to variable discounts on my medications. One of my prescriptions is a bit costly, so to stretch it out, I only take two pills per day instead of the three that were prescribed. A couple of medications fell under the Wal-Mart $4.00 prescription plan, and that’s a real money saver. What would be better, though, is a national health care plan that ensures quality, affordable health insurance for all Americans.

I am only able to work part-time in a mediocre position which doesn’t pay all that well. Too bad our income doesn’t keep up with the cost of living. It’s not just health care and prescription drug costs that keep rising. The cost of living in general has risen dramatically, and I’m sure I don’t need to explain that. Electricity, gas, oil, phone, food, clothing are all eating up our income faster than it comes in. What about savings, you ask? Well, that’s just a joke. The opportunity to save just isn’t in the picture. Before I went on disability, I had Blue Cross/Blue Shield family coverage at 80/20 payout, and dental! Oh, those were the golden years as far as our health care was concerned. There are many changes that need to be made in the health care system, and access to more benefits for all Americans isn’t the only step. We also need to address better regulating hospital, physician, dental and diagnostic fees. And if prescription drug costs are reduced, you’ll also be able to afford the medication your doctor prescribes.

We all need to get behind New Hampshire for Health Care and make our voices heard. Let’s get our message out to all of these candidates running for president. Health care is the big issue for this campaign season. Let’s all make sure that presidential candidates respond to our call and that health care reform remains a top issue, and not just the popular “theme” of the 2008 presidential race.