we asked karen ignani if that was acceptable to the health insurance industry. >> no. it's a tragedy. we've been at the front of the line, one of the first organizations, two years ago, to propose a strategy to get all americans covered. it can't stand. it's the wrong thing. and from a perspective of productivity, social policy, and what is the right thing to do, we need to prioritize health care reform and we need to do it urgently. >> narrator: these days, the insurance industry is talking a lot about change. they say if every american is required to buy insurance, they'll agree to cover everyone, and that then the cost of health insurance will come down. dale and alison abrams live in great barrington, massachusetts, with their kids, quinn and eliza. like many americans, they had long struggled to afford health insurance. both were self employed-- she as a grant administrator, he as a realtor. their combined annual income was just over $63,000. then in 2006, when they heard that the state of massachusetts was launching a major new health care reform program, they we