Insurers trying to get rid of customers

We all know it's not perfect, far from it. But thank goodness there were some legislators who actually took a stand for the benefit of all Americans: those without insurance, and those who have it.

Many of those who have it were likely just years or even months away from being squeezed out of the system, one way or the other. I'm 63, have always worked, but with high blood pressure I found myself having a harder and harder time getting coverage, despite the fact that my blood pressure was consistently controlled by mild medication.

Insurance companies kept raising my rates until this past year when my insurer, who started my rate at about $430 per month in January, raised it to about $560 mid year, and then to $730 per month in October. That's an almost 70 percent increase in less than a year. I had no claims; my condition had not changed; I had not been late on any payments. This is beyond greed.

There is no question in my mind that the insurers are not trying to get more money from individual customers, they're trying to get rid of those customers by making the premiums prohibitive. I am so grateful for my congressmen who stood up for people like me.

And for those naysayers who argue they don't want the government deciding their care, the fact is, the insurance companies have been making that decision for years. It's time to make them stop.

Judi Bryan

Carol Stream