By now, most of us are sick of the health care debate raging here in the U.S. I think it’s finally dawned on everyone that something has to be done, even if only for political reasons. Here in America if you work for a company large enough to have some clout in negotiating health insurance rates, you’re golden. And if you are poor enough, you may qualify for programs. The squeeze is in between: the self-employed, or those who work for small businesses.

There is something wrong when: families face foreclosure because they had to borrow money from their home to support an ailing parent; small business owners have to pay over $2,000.00 monthly for one family’s insurance; a retired person on fixed income has to debate whether or not to continue paying for her $800/month insurance; an uninsured individual has to file for bankruptcy to get out from under the debt created when he had cancer.

Well, it appears that we are getting closer to a health care overhaul. But we still have our stumbling blocks, including the public option. People are afraid it will lead to socialized medicine, and take away from their current health care options. Never mind that the insurance companies have been placing limits on us and our doctors for years, and that the public option is merely an alternative (but that’s another topic).

Critics of the major overhaul cite anecdotes of a failed health care system abroad where the elderly are denied care and health care in general is more restrictive. But I have to wonder whether this is true, given that they are the same persons who accused Obama of wanting to create death panels for the elderly. I thought it appropriate to hear from our readers, since I know our Cassidy people hail from Canada and England, among other places. Please write and tell us: What country are you from? What has your experience been? Do you like the health care you currently have? Encourage others you know to write and inform us. We will report back to you in a future post. And thank you for weighing in.