This is my first entry, so welcome to my new blog. For the past several months, I've been talking to people around the region who don't have health insurance, asking them what happens when they get sick or need care. I wanted to find the stories behind the statistics. 

What has struck me more than anything else over the last few months is this: the feeling of frustration, bordering on desperation, of so many people as they try to navigate their way through what I will call the "unsystem."

Many people feel that the system sort of piles on. Just when they need access to care to be easiest, it can become the most difficult. They want to focus on getting well. But there is so much anxiety by so many over whether they can actually get the care they need. Most people I talked to, who got care, loved their doctors, felt the actual medical care was terrific. It was GETTING the care, or paying for it, that created so much stress.

So wish me luck in this new adventure, and please feel free to share your comments and stories and set me straight!