IS MY HEALTH CARE SYSTEM MAKING ME SICK!

How can this be POSSIBLE some may ask? Do you not have a good healthcare provider.

Well, yes, I do have a healthcare provider.

I pay for this healthcare insurance straight out of my pocket every month.

I've been doing this ever since my husband died in 2002. Before that time I didn't have to pay as it was through the Board of Education and one the benefits of being an educator was having these premiums paid by them or through the state.

It seems strange though to have to pay now at a time in one's life when one can ill afford these high premiums that some Americans are faced with paying on a monthly basis.

When I first started to shell out these monies the premiums were $256 a month. Even then it was a bit of a struggle, but I am one to believe if I don't have coverage, then shit will hit the fan. For example since then I've found myself in the ER twice. One time because I required an angiogram it cost $5,000. The second time in the ER almost $3,000. Then again I've paid a whole lot more into the system than that over the last seven years so basically it wasn't anything that I got for free.

Since 2002 my premiums have risen to almost $475 a month. Now when you're living on a relatively fixed income that rise affects pretty much how I now live. I did have a gym membership at one time. I went faithfully. And all my numbers--cholesterol, blood pressure--were lower because of it.

Well, because of the rise in everything in this country, namely our taxes, insurances premiums for cars and homes, food, gas, heating oil, and of course those premiums for health care I gave up the gym membership.

Consequently, I know I'm not as healthy as I once was when I was taking part in a regular exercise program.

So I'm wondering now. Does our healthcare system that is currently in place really care about the health of the citizens of this country?

I'm not sure.

In fact I would say it could care less as long as the premiums keep rising and people like me support the system.

Something is wrong here.

Then again considering where we got ourselves because of irrational thinking and decisions that basically don't make sense on the parts of those that should be thinking rationally and making sound business decisions plus those who have been living beyond their means, it makes perfect sense that this country is going to feel the pinch of the economy for a very long time.

Meantime, I'll just continue to make my seven-day soups, buy only what I need, sell off my things on Ebay and Half.com, and live way below my means. Since the death of my husband in 2002 I've been doing just that, so doing it now is no big deal anymore.

But for those who have been taking things like "free health care" for granted, or feel they truly needed that third garage for a car they may seldom drive, or the huge house that has suddenly become the Albatross around their neck, then a rude awakening is still in the offering.

TO ORDER A SOLDIER'S FORTUNE

Lia Martin’s father Eliah Stewart summons her to Split Maple Ridge, Vermont, a place where years later still evokes memories of a dark love and an even darker betrayal. Knowing how his daughter feels about this place, Lia feels he would not have asked her to return unless for a good reason.

The name Eliah Stewart still grates hard against Sean McIntyre’s soul, reminding him of the painful humiliation he had once experienced on that unforgettable night. Years later he would tell others he felt safer fighting in Vietnam than in those Vermont backwoods.

When unforeseen circumstances throw Lia, Sean and Eliah together under one roof, despite the reopening of painful past emotional wounds, love still exists between Lia and Sean. But the question remains if this love will survive once all truths of what took place on that stormy summer night are exposed.

To Order: Treble Heart Books

TO ORDER NO MORE SECRETS, NO MORE LIES

Sydney Morgan, single mother, financial advisor, wants the best for her physically challenged son. Except when his biological father re-enters her life, she realizes the secrets and consequential lies she has forced her son to live may destroy not only his trust but also his love.

When Grant Sinclair brings Sydney Morgan back into his fold, he soon discovers her long held secret. Will this secret end up destroying the yet fragile emotions that still exist between them, as well as a possible future together as a family?

To Order: Forbidden Publications

ORDER STORMBOUND

A widow who can't celebrate Christmas at home; a doctor worried about losing another young patient. Together, trapped in a storm with a cast of unusual characters, these two find out what life is truly about and work on discovering the peace that has eluded them.

To Order: Aspen Mountain Press