The road to better health care.(Work overview)

Many Americans get too little health care; others get the wrong kind. We're paying for tests that aren't medically justified, surgery that's unneeded, and medical errors that are costly and sometimes deadly. You've told us much the same thing in letters and in e-mail messages. Now we'd like you to tell us in person.

You don't have to travel; we'll come to you. Throughout the summer, Consumers Union staff members will be crossing the country recording stories from consumers like you. Our goal is to chronicle tales that are so compelling that Congress is spurred to change the health-care system. Along the way, we hope to find several dozen affected consumers who will go with us in coming months to Washington, D.C. You can join us virtually by going to www.CoverAmericaTour.org to read our blogs, hear from some of the people we're meeting, and tell us your own experiences.

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In this issue, we focus on a particularly worrisome form of medical financing in which doctors and dentists peddle medical credit cards to patients (see "Overdose of Debt," on page 14). Already onerous medical costs are made more so by the high interest rates and fees of ...