Share Your Story: What do preventive health services with no co-pays or deductibles mean to you?

For the first time in about 2-3 years, I don't have anxiety about co-pays.  I went through this before years ago and just in time, my GYN found abnormal cells.  My daughter is covered under my insurance.  Unfortunately, my grandson is not so I will be shopping for a plan for him because my daughter is between jobs and school.  I am very grateful to President Obama and his stedfastness and willingness to expend some of his political capital to get this bill done.  My oldest daughter was able to stay on my insurance until age 26.  She got dropped before she turned 27! Other than that, I am thankful that now I can get my regularly scheduled wellness checkups and have it covered.  Because of that I have even been able, per my PCP to get treatment for chronic knee problems through a physical therapy/weight loss program.  My knees are responding due to the weight loss.  The Affordable Care Act or as the republicans negatively try to spin it, Obamacare IS THE BOMB DIGGITY and I will fight against anyone or any system  who tries to REPEAL IT!

What it means to me? What I don't like, someone else in control of me. Seriously, how are we ever going to realisticly expect anything for nothing? If it's there there will be a price to pay. And I figure the value of the price may by far outweigh it's benefit. I am not so dumb. And I know we are to trust, though there are some you cannot trust. The goverment is one not to trust.

Preventive care services mean to me being able to spot cancer or heart or blood vessel problems at an early stage when they are much easier to treat and the cost of treatment is far less.  Early treatment has the best chance for success and interventions are less invasive.  This is a great thing for me personally.I am also Vice Chairman of Area Disabilities Board 11 in Orange County, California, and I can tell you that these preventive services are very much appreciated by Orange County's disability community.  They have helped the clients we serve lead healthier, fuller, more independent lives.  And being able to live lives of inclusion and as independently as possible in the community is what California's Lanterman Act has been all about.  The disability community, which I am a member, really appreciates these services and are very glad that they are available.

As a state employee I'd always had my family enrolled in a co-pay HMO.  But when the industry began to change, so did he insurancce benefits..  My eldest son graduated from college and found a great job with an internet carrier.  Within 18 months, his job had been shipped to India.  Other jobs he had, he paid high prices for his insurance, now he and his girlfriend are wihout  any.The service industry at the college I worked at was going private - buy-outs were upcoming or you could stay and start over again.  I had 17 years.  I chose to go on with my education and  attended an out of state college, with COBRA coverage, for my youngest and myself, only.  Soon we found ourselves without a COBRA option, so added a school insurance policy - it was too high, and we never used it, as the Health Center at school provided normal visits for me, so I never renewed it.The state offered a Medicaid partial insurance for my son - Peach Care for Kids.  It was great, my son had his own doctors and dentists, and I paid a reasonable price for the insurance.  The clinic serviced my needs and PC had our back, with my youngest son.It's five years later now and a few months ago I jgraduated from with my graduate degree. However I now find myself without any form of medical treatment; and I have no abiity to pay for any type of treatment, due to unemployment.  My daughter and her children are on Medicaid, due to her unemployment (their dad had them on his plan until he lost his job).  My eldest son and family have insurance for their young son only; he works a part-time job (unemployed for 6 mo before the part-time job) and she works a full time job, in a factory.  My son has a BA.  And years of work in various trades.My youngest  has no insurance; he works one full time and one part time job, just to make ends meet.  He's been without insurance since he was 18 years old.  None of his employers carry health insurance.We are all part of the 47%, we don't want to be dependent on the government, and prior to this spirial downfall we've never asked for Medicare for our children.  But the moves made by 'others' has left us dependent, but we only do this for our children's sake.  We'd all like to have our full time jobs back, work hard and come home to healthy and happy families, at the end of the day.  We want a more responsible society, where everyone works at getting 'us' out of the hole of despair (unemployment) and back to paying for our own health care needs (employee benefits).