Taking your pulse

In a recent column, I told you about Consumers Union’s spring send-off of a big blue recreational vehicle and our Cover America Tour. Our goal was to chronicle your stories about health care and learn more about the problems Americans face.

Well, the RV and its crew—three intrepid staffers—are back, having traversed 45 states. They videotaped almost 100 of you and spoke with thousands more. As Consumers Union works for health-care reform, your input has helped us define the issues and identify solutions.

We met you in your kitchens and on your farms, at local clinics and national conventions. For many Americans, decisions about life are guided not by your health but by your need for health coverage. Whether to take a job, quit one, marry, divorce, or move are all influenced by whether you can get or keep coverage.

We’re awed by the resolve and insight of those we met. To tell your story and watch video of others, go to www.CoverAmericaTour.org.

In this issue, our editors analyze the major presidential candidates’ health plans as they would affect five families in various situations. And they see how the plans address the worries Americans recounted in a recent Consumer Reports survey. The article doesn’t pick a winner. And health care is just one of many issues in the campaigns. Whoever is elected, Consumers Union will be pressing for reform that ensures that health care for all Americans is accessible, affordable, and of high quality. Consumers Union believes that the debate over health care must have at its heart the needs of consumers. You deserve nothing less.