He was one of the fortunate ones as it relates to healthcare—he had Medicare as well as an excellent private healthcare policy as a retiree from the Brooklyn Union Gas Company. As a result, he rarely had much to pay for the hundreds of thousands of dollars in healthcare expenses that he incurred over the past three years. He had congestive heart failure.

So what’s the gripe, what’s the problem: – WASTE, WASTE, WASTE! My father was in the hospital 8 times over a six month period, with six visits to the emergency room. I was at his side through each visit. I was absolutely shocked at our system and the amount of waste incurred—at each and every level of the healthcare system. This waste must stop if we want get healthcare costs under control. We must get in there and cut waste, eliminate redundancy from the system, use the technology we have to make the system more efficient, and be sure procedures that are “ordered” are actually helpful and necessary. Providing healthcare to everyone is a dream to our family [as my husband and I are paying for our own high-deductable plan ($10,000 each, without prescription coverage) and worry about being dropped)]. At the same time, it was apparent to me, through my experience with my dear father, that the system is broken and out of control.

Talk to me. I have more hours inside the healthcare system over the past 6 months than many individual nurses doctors, and administrators. I have simple ideas that can make huge differences.

Deborah Testa
Daughter to Patient: John S. Graban Jr.

I absolutely abhor politics. It tends to bring out the worst in people and unless you're in a room with completely like minded people it turns into a piranha frenzy on the lesser represented group. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion until it's different from yours. This cycle we're treated to being bludgeoned for supposed racism or sexism to boot.

I'm registered as independant because I don't completely identify with either party. When I've been asked who I'm voting for I essentially say "undecided", but I'd rather say "none of your business". I'll get attacked no matter which side I announce support for, and I'm thoroughly displeased with both options. There was a lot of potential in the canidates this cycle but sadly they managed to get all muddied up by the end.

I talked to many "early" deciders and they decided based on their party or on "values" (a horribly abused word in today's world).

I know that each time I listened to the candidates, without prejudice and being undecided until the debates, I found I would make a choice easy for me and not before the debates.

If McCain served in the Senate for only 2 years before running for president but spoke really well, his messages about change would've fallen on deaf ears because he wouldn't have done anything important enough to warrent attention.

If Obama was the one who served his country in the military and senate for 20 years, there'd be no question who'd win.