It’s a club nobody wants to join.

At a house party in Broomfield last night, I shared a story about suicide and one family’s fight to save their son. Having traveled across the state for the last four years as president of Mental Health Colorado, I’d heard no shortage of such stories.

The story I told came from a grieving father. He’d spent months begging an insurance company to cover his son’s treatment, only to be denied again and again.

The company eventually relented and agreed to pay his claim. That good news arrived three weeks after his son died by suicide, at age 14.

When I finished my story last night, another father approached me to share a similar ordeal. His son had survived a suicide attempt, and his insurance company had paid for his hospitalization, but only after four appeals.

I heard from a mother as well, still paying hospital bills three years after her daughter attempted suicide. “I’m one of the lucky ones,” she said, “who got to bring their child home.”

Every family in America, including mine, has been touched by mental illness or drug addiction or suicide—or by the indifference of an insurance industry that bases its profits on its ability to deny as many claims as possible. This system is failing us, and too many people are paying too high a price.

Each year, an estimated 35,000 Americans die because they can’t afford to see a doctor. Medical costs force half a million families into bankruptcy.

I’m running for Senate to ensure that all Americans get the health care we need, including mental health and substance use services. That care should not depend on the whims of an insurance company or the generosity of an employer.

I’ve laid out a plan to expand coverage, reduce costs, and improve the quality of health care. That includes strengthening Medicare and lowering the age of eligibility to 0.

Reforming this system won’t be easy, but the status quo is killing us.

Andrew Romanoff