by Jude Coyle

Created on: November 24, 2011   Last Updated: November 25, 2011

I volunteer with an organization that helps families through emergencies that could otherwise cause financial ruin. I can't say that we are one hundred percent effective, although I will say what we do does help. We've had numerous experiences whereas the family who would have otherwise been forced to leave their home have kept it because we stepped in. Where we can't pay a mortgage or rent, we will take the cost of food off the backs of families for several weeks. We will help with clothing and Christmas gifts as well. We've provided special needs that couldn't be found elsewhere. We've helped teenagers finish school, we've paid for prescriptions, and we've moved families because of burn outs, mold or even women and children moving from shelters to apartments. We've done quite a bit, and quite effectively at that.

I've been part of this group for twenty years. In my experience, the one thing most of the families find themselves up against are health care costs. Whether they have insurance or not, we've seen more families in trouble. And each year it's worse than the year before. 

The experts say it is because of Wall Street. Personally, I can't confirm that.

What I can confirm is this: I've seen men women and children have coverage denied because of pre-existing conditions. One man we helped was told he couldn't receive workers' compensation insurance because he fell at home and claimed it to have happened at work. The doctor confirmed that the man had shattered several vertebrae and couldn't walk. Another man we helped also sustained an injury to his vertebrae while at work. In doing so, he saved another man's life. His insurance company refused him coverage because if he hadn't stepped in to help, he wouldn't have been injured. After all, the cost of a burial is a lot cheaper than operating on someone's back. I've heard stories about women losing coverage because their so-called pre-existing condition happened to be a pregnancy.

I can't count how many people have asked us for help because employers can no longer afford to carry insurance on their employees. With costs rising and paychecks stagnating, people cannot afford to replace it either. The hardest part of that is when someone becomes so sick, their employer lets them go because they've lost too many days. Thanks to the Family Leave Act, signed into law by President Clinton, when someone has lost ninety consecutive days of work, the employer is now allowed to hire someone to replace

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>