Last Wednesday, President Barack Obama delivered an historic address to a joint session of Congress and attempted to persuade our senators, Republicans, and more importantly, the American public that a public health insurance option must be available to those who need it.

The President’s speech highlighted the need to revamp the current American health care system, which, ironically, has become ineffective on an aggregate level despite costing more money per capita than any other country in the world.

However, more compelling than any economic argument are the horrifying personal stories that should be more characteristic of a developing country than the most advanced nation of all time.

Last February, my younger brother got extremely sick. Despite having thrown up continuously for nearly two weeks, his doctor assured my parents he simply had a bad case of a stomach virus that had been circulating through local public schools.

Unfortunately, his doctor’s assessment was pretty far from the truth. It turned out to be a much bigger problem. His appendix had burst nearly a week before and his sickness was merely a physical symptom of the organ’s venomous fluid entering his bloodstream, and he was immediately transferred by ambulance to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite.

Once there, ER doctors found that my brother had two very large abscesses from the infection caused by his ruptured appendix. The only answer: risky emergency surgery.

After two emergency room visits, almost a month in the hospital, and a trip in an ambulance, his medical bills totaled a whopping $100,310.04!

Of course, at the time of the urgent situation, my parents’ only concern was my brother’s health. However, when it became evident that he would recover, my dad began to panic about the situation’s financial implications.

Although members of my family always visit the doctor when we are sick and get prescriptions without a second thought, we had never been faced with such a big emergency that would result in an extended hospital stay.

My parents were not sure how much of the hospital visit would be covered by the insurance provided through my father’s employer. Even if our insurance would only require us to cover 10 percent of the costs, it would still be financially burdensome on my family’s budget.

Fortunately, my family’s health insurance, acquired through my father’s employer, turned out to be excellent, and as a result of its comprehensive coverage, my parents only paid a total of $500 out of pocket.

While our nightmare experience was essentially over when my brother was finally released, it was just the beginning for many of the families we had bonded with over countless hours in the break room and kitchen on my brother’s floor of Scottish Rite.

Many of these families had little to no health insurance and, as a result, were more or less doomed to bankruptcy.

One young girl on my brother’s floor had cancer, and another boy we met had been tragically hit by a car and went through five surgeries in one week!

I’m sure the medical bills for those families were monumental, and my heart hurts for the families that can simply not afford health insurance.

Unfortunately, in Georgia this situation is far more common than what is morally acceptable. There are an estimated 307,000 uninsured children in Georgia alone – that is over 12 percent of our state’s children!

Furthermore, approximately 2,929,000 people, or 34 percent of the population under the age of 65 in Georgia, go without medical coverage.

It upsets me that people are faced with the dilemma of whether or not to treat a medical condition, if doing so will result in bankruptcy. Medical and illness bills cause nearly half of the bankruptcies in the United States.

From a moral standpoint, I wonder how we can deny any person in this country health coverage? It is inexcusable and wrong.

While my younger brother was fortunate enough to receive the care he needed and my family only had to pay a small percentage of his medical bills out of pocket, I simply cannot fathom what would have happened if my parents had been among the seven million Americans that have lost their jobs – and corresponding health insurance – since the recession began.

I am hopeful that the determination and drive that President Obama expressed during his address on Wednesday night will result in a positive reform of the health care system in our great country.

- Jill Turner is a junior from Tyrone, majoring in international affairs and is on the executive board of the Roosevelt Institution.