Millions of Voices for Change
Millions of Americans are faced with difficult decisions concerning their health care and financial security every day. Here are just two stories we´ve heard recently.

Rising Long-term Care Premiums
"Trying to be responsible for our old age, we purchased long-term care insurance eight years ago. This year our premiums went up 55 percent. I am afraid that the premiums will become totally unaffordable by the time we may need them, and we will lose all the dollars we invested and may have to rely on family or Medicaid in the end."
Mary K.
Green Valley, AZ

Something Must Be Done Now
"When I was diagnosed two years ago with malignant hypertension and renal insufficiency, I soon became aware that not only would I have to manage this chronic condition for the rest of my life but also manage the $35,000 of debt that I acquired in receiving correct diagnoses and care.
I am fearful for the future of our elder population, but I am more concerned about the future of my generation and how my children will be able to take care of me when I can no longer take care of myself.
I am of a generation where we do not stay with companies 20+ years and are offered a pension or even a health care plan that is affordable for most families. We are getting sicker much younger, and quite frankly, there are many of us who are simply becoming too demoralized to commit three days of our work just to pay for taxes, health care, and welfare.

Something must be done now! We are all suffering from this system that treats people's lives as a tradable commodity!"
Amanda H.
Tulsa, OK

Are you concerned about the cost of health care? Or worried about financial security in your retirement? We´d like to encourage you, your friends, family members, neighbors and coworkers to visit www.dividedwefail.org/share to share how these issues are impacting you and your families.

Learn More About the Issues

Tune-in to Tonight´s Presidential Candidate Forum
AARP and Iowa Public Television (IPTV) will be holding a Democratic presidential candidate forum focused on health care and financial security tonight, September 20. A follow-up Republican forum will be held on October 25. PBS correspondent and anchor Judy Woodruff will moderate the 90-minute discussions.

The forums will be broadcast live on 265 PBS stations across the country. Check the PBS coverage schedule to see if your local station is planning to air the forum.

At tonight´s event, Democratic candidates committed to participating and meeting forum criteria include: U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, U.S. Senator Chris Dodd, former U.S. Senator John Edwards, U.S. Senator Joe Biden and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. All of the Republican presidential candidates have been invited to participate in the October 25 forum. More

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure
Sadly, not everyone understands the benefits of prevention. We've become a nation that takes better care of our cars than our bodies. How many of us would go five or 10 years without changing the oil or checking the fluids? We can only hope our bodies are more forgiving than most automobiles.

Preventive health care is not a luxury, yet we've had people with and without health insurance e-mail us about how they cannot afford to do what they know is right and essential for their health. Patricia C. of Ludlow, VT wrote in regarding the situation she and her husband face:

"I have not had a mammogram for 20 yrs. or a Pap test for 15....we could afford the tests, but what if they found something? Could not afford to fix it! Better to not know. We see a doctor ONLY when we absolutely have to, do not get BP checks, diabetes, bone density, colonoscopies, etc…This is such a disgrace in the "greatest country in the world???" We have worked hard and lived frugally and there just isn't enough money. A good share of our friends are in the same boat. Please! Help!"

Although we can't prevent all disease, we can do much more to keep people out of doctors' offices and hospitals. More

Share Your Thoughts
We'd like to hear from you. Tell us if you and your family use preventative services, such as regular mammograms or prostrate screenings? If not, why?

Taking a Stand in Your Communities

Students Out in Full Force for Divided We Fail
Nearly everyone holding a Divided We Fail sign at the Republican debate on the campus of University of New Hampshire (UNH) in Durham was a UNH student, just back from their summer vacations. While other UNH students were lined up around the block to buy their books, these activists – led by Divided We Fail coordinator and UNH student Sam Riemer – were doing their part to make sure the candidates addressed the important issues of health care and financial security. More

Debate Marks “Coming of Age’ for Hispanic Population

Divided We Fail team members served as witnesses to history last week, when presidential candidates conducted a first-ever, nationally televised debate in Spanish.

National news organizations hailed the debate as marking the "coming of age" of the nation's 44-million-strong Hispanic population, the nation's fastest-growing ethnic minority.

Leading the Divided We Fail presence at the historic event was Gabriela Zabalúa-Goddard, editor of AARP's Segunda Juventud magazine, together with AARP Florida state office staff and volunteer leaders. During the debate, nine out of the 54 questions, dealt with the Divided We Fail issues of affordable, accessible, quality health care or lifetime financial security for all generations. More

Divided We Fail. Together We Can Do Anything.