Dear Mr./Mrs. President,

I’m coming to you to help make a difference in today's medical costs. I believe that the high cost of medical bills cause a hardship on family incomes.

For many years people have been struggling to pay medical bills. As a younger person of society, I didn’t realize that until it affected my family directly.

About a year ago, my Granddad suffered from a mini stroke. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital and then by another ambulance where he would stay for the next few days to get some tests ran. My family and I were so concerned that we did not even think about the medical bills that were already piling up. Once we knew for sure that he was ok and he left the hospital, my grandparents were bombarded with various medical bills for hospital stays, tests, blood work, ambulances and other charges. When I heard about this my first reaction was surprised and shocked. I wanted to do something to help, but I couldn't. I was only a kid, so I decided that this was the perfect opportunity to make my voice heard.

I began researching medical costs and how they have increased in a short period of time. Did you know that in less than twenty years medical bills have climbed over eight times the amount they used to be? Also, during research I came across several articles that made me realize that other families have been in the same situation… or worse. While going through a couple of stories, one in particular caught my eye. It was a story about a man who lived in New York City and was a father to three kids and a loving husband.He was making his daily commute to work when he tripped in the subway and slammed his skull into metal and concrete. After being rushed to the hospital, he was given help and underwent many surgeries to repair his skull. Once those were completed and he seemed to be ok, he started recovery. Although he seemed ok, in the fifth week of recovery something terrible happened. He began feeling dizzy and was taken to the hospital where surgeons performed a life-saving craniotomy and then treated him for a brain infection caused by the craniotomy. In the midst of all the chaos, his family was being charged with over $106,000.00 in bills. His insurance covered none of the bills so he and his family were left to pay them. The most tragic part is that this is only one family out of around one billion. Hardships like that tear families apart.

Mr. President, every year there are people who suffer to pay for regular bills and to pay for other necessities. Surprise bills are just one more thing. The only difference is the medical bills can change lives forever in an extremely negative way. Help me put a stop to debt and growth of medical bills. We don't have to take away charges all at once, but something needs to change. You are powerful enough, I am just ONE voice of the approximate seven billion.

Yours truly,

G. Hand