My son committed suicide on October 24, 2012. He was 24 years old. There was no funding available for him to see Northwestern Community Services, the only behavioral health organization that helps patients on a need basis to pay in our community We need mental health included in all insurance policies. My husband works for a company that denies any mental health coverage. We can not deny people with mental health issues when statistics state that one out of four Americans have mental health issues and this staggering statistic does not include those that deny any mental health issues and are self-medicating with drugs (prescription or illegal) and alcohol.

A healthy response to the Sandy Hook tragedy. As a Marriage and Family Therapist who has worked for many years with men,  women, and children, I would like to propose a solution that I believe will head off violence at its root.  It involves family therapy.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) provides funding for health research to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS. Over the past several years, the NIH budget has remained nearly flat. As a result, less research is being funded.

My granddaughter Madeline Ella Levitt died 2 days after her third Birthday from choking on a grape. EMT's were unable to save her life. Grapes are too soft to be expelled by the Heimlich Maneuver. Statistics show this is one of the top choking hazards in children under the age of four. In honor of her life, I would like to get "Maddie's Law" passed to make it mandatory to place warning labels on packaged grapes and signage in stores on loose grapes! Thank you. Maddie Levitt 05/30/2008 - 06/01/2011. Mimi loves you!

We need to open these institutions back up across the nation for those individuals who are a danger to themselves and those around them. Mental illness is a sickness like any other chronic condition. Insurance companies need to recognize it and pay for it as well. This would help to prevent tragedies like that of Sandy Hook Elementary here in Ct.and other places here in our country. This should be a top priority in healthcare reform.

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I have been billed to pay a copay for a preventive care procedure. According to my insurance contract, all preventive care is 100% covered. Had I not checked my medical bills, I would have paid on a bill that did not warrant a copay. Because it has happened to me on numerous occasion I believe this is a common practice for some major hospitals.. I think of others who might not be aware of their medical insurance contract, such as the elderly or others who might be ignorant of all of their medical benefits...

Our government is looking to find major areas for reducing expenditures. Our percapita healthcare costs are more than twice the cost of the currently most expensive country yet we don't enjoy better health. We all know Obamacare was written by industry lobbyists that sought to maintain the income of Insurance companies, doctors, insurance companies, pharmaceuticals, hospitals, etc.

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WE spend 18% of our GDP (gross domestic product) on medical costs. They rest of the world spends between 6 and 8% of their GDP. We have the most inefficient expensive medical system in the world, and we cannot afford this system brought to us by the free market, We cannot compete with other countries who add 6 to 8% of GDP to product cost when we have to add 18% of our GDP to our product Cost. Medicare is not the problem outrageous medical costs are!!!!!!

I am a single mother who is raising a son who has aspergers and autism spectrum. I am a parent who wants to work while he is in school. I cannot find any employment with flexible hours. My child who wants to be in an intergrated classroom setting, but couldn't. No one in the schools, churches, family, or public services are willing to work with him. Many parents and I are feeling discriminated. There are some situations that can be overwhelming for a single parent or two parent families. We are asking people in the community to get help our children and to save our children. Those people have been ignored. That's exactly what happened to the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. I think about my son so much. I believe in the old saying, "It takes a village to raise a child". People are ignore that stategy. Just like what our former president, George W. Bush stated, "No child left behind".

This is sexual mutilation