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It's time to seriously consider a 'universal health care' alternative. As a cancer survivor I know first hand the trauma and financial devastation that goes hand in hand as we struggle to recover from this illness. It's an uphill battle that sometimes does not turn out favorably.

Fortunately, the number of people who survive has grown and the numbers are impressive. But I can attest to the fact that survival alone is where our determination and will-power is focused to achieve recovery. The financial aspect doesn't even run a close second. By the time we take an accounting of the expenses we have incurred, it is already beyond our comprehension.

There are still far too many lives lost to cancer, and the soaring cost people incur weighs heavily on their families. This financial burden often leaves them buried in debt for years.

We know that in any business the bottom line is profit. We know that the medical profession is a business and that insurance is a business. And we also know the two work together to "cure", and to "help pay for" those they serve. It is my belief that most people in the medical field, especially those who take the Hippocratic Oath, are duty bound to put the patient first and to treat them above and beyond monetary gain. None the less, the cost of medical care has reached astronomical heights.

Enter the insurance companies. Their obligation to their customers is to help cover the expenses of hospital and medical treatment for an annual fee which customarily includes eighty percent of those expenses. When we buy health insurance we understand these terms and understand that we will be responsible for the twenty percent that is not covered. Therefore, we usually shop around to get the best benefits for the money before we sign up for a health insurance plan.

Once we enroll in an insurance plan, however, we learn that every now and then we are notified that the cost of our health insurance has been increased. Along with this news, we usually learn that some of the coverage has been dropped. The insurance company arbitrarily makes these changes, not with the customer's well being in mind, but with the bottom line, i.e., their profit, as the main objective. There is no oath taken in the insurance business where they would be obligated to do otherwise.

There are arguments that research is so expensive that these increases are necessary. There are other arguments that the pharmaceutical companies are responsible

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