Americans may be divided on their preferences for universal health care, a privatized system, or something in between, but one point everyone can agree on is that medical costs are too high. In a recent issue of the American Journal of Medicine, researchers reported that nearly two-thirds of U.S. bankruptcies in 2007 were linked to medical bills, a 50 percent jump from 2001—and the majority of filers actually had insurance. Health reform could eventually help lower that number. But in the meantime, some Americans have waged their own battles to affect change.
