As a former employee of the closed Maytag plant in Galesburg, David Bevard has seen first hand the effect lack of access to healthcare can have on a town. David and his wife, Patricia, have also felt the pinch of increased healthcare costs themselves. Over the last year, the cost of their health insurance has more than doubled while coverage has decreased. David fears that his plan will get so expensive that in a few years his employer will be able to say that they offer insurance but no one will take it because of the cost. On top of that, Patricia was recently diagnosed with cancer. David and Patricia are not sure what they would do if they had to pay for her treatment costs out-of-pocket.
"It scares me to death to think of what might happen somewhere down the road if we don't have insurance and she has to go in for procedures." David said.
