Tracey:  And I’m worried about what’s going to happen to my life in the future, and what kind of expenses I’m going to be running into, particularly if the healthcare coverage is reduced and taken away.  So that’s my big concern. 
I was in the hospital for an overnight, just in February, and the bill that I got for it was almost $11,000 (or $10,000 something).  Overnight!  You know -- through the emergency room and so forth, and that rascal came up to almost $11,000.  And if I didn’t have healthcare coverage, it would have devastated our finances completely. In addition to that, I know the hospital wrote off a good part of it, and the coverage was just, like, half of it.  So, anyway, I know that everybody’s contributing there, but that bill would have devastated us, if we did not have this coverage.  So losing it would be really devastating to our family. 
I never though there would ever be even a need for a [H.R.] 1322.  I thought that, when I was with the company, healthcare was part of a guaranteed package. Particularly, if I had retired, we’d made the commitment.  That’s it!   You know, and now I find out that, in fact, it is in jeopardy, and I just hope that it continues on in the future.  The 1322, I’m realizing is necessary -- to get a long-term commitment from the company and from the government, if you will, to get this nailed down, so that we don’t have to worry it in the future.     

Film Courtesy of the Association of BellTel Retirees