Judy Wahler

My husband, Bobby, is dying. He's been battling brain cancer for the last 23 years. Like so many other Americans I am facing a future I never envisioned for my husband or myself: One of devastating loss, emotional suffering and plain old-fashioned fear. Today, my husband is living in a nursing home and we're spending close to $20,000 a month to keep him there. He had been covered by Medicare and secondary insurance, but he exceeded the benefit limit for both when his condition was deemed "catastrophic", leaving us no other option but to use our savings to pay his bills. I'm lucky, I know, because we had money saved, but I can see a time in the not so distant future when the money will run out. This is why I am supporting Barack Obama.

I am not alone in this nightmare. Our healthcare system is broken, and we are all facing a choice on November 4th that will decide its future and our own. Barack Obama's plan includes investing in healthcare information technology, improving our prevention and management of chronic conditions, and providing reinsurance for catastrophic coverage. Obama's plan will also reduce insurance premiums and make health insurance universal which will reduce spending on uncompensated care.

In less than two weeks will we elect John McCain and continue to float along in the same leaky boat with the only change being a new tax credit that will be taxed as income (and therefore provide no real relief)? Or will we elect Barack Obama, and start a new era of quality healthcare? One that is available to all of us, based on smart economics, not charity and will neither bankrupt our nation's businesses nor leave us in the predicament we're in now? To me, the choice is crystal clear.