EAST HARTFORD — Daniel Russo is an accomplished professional with several graduate degrees, but at age 57, after losing his job, he fears he will soon have to decide between paying the mortgage or his costly health insurance.

The Middletown resident was one of a dozen people who testified Wednesday at a listening tour sponsored by U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., who took testimony to bring back to Washington as the Obama administration works toward health care reform.

“It shouldn’t be a privilege, it shouldn’t be something that only some people can afford in this country, to be able to not worry, if they get sick, that they will end up asking that nice gentleman for a space in his (homeless) shelter,” said Russo, who pays more than $3,000 a month for health insurance for he and his wife, as both have pre-existing medical conditions.

The “nice gentleman” Russo referred to was David Fenn, executive director of the No Freeze Shelter in Willimantic, who told Dodd that about half of his clients are homeless because of medical bills, while Fenn himself is one of the 47 million Americans without health insurance.

Fenn also brought cheers from the crowd gathered in the auditorium at Goodwin College, when he criticized the $800 billion federal stabilization bill aimed at fixing the financial markets. “It seems criminal to me that we are paying corporations and not people with this bailout,” Fenn said.

Dodd also was concerned about where that money was being distributed, but said getting credit markets working again is crucial to halting the 17,000 jobs lost each day in the U.S., in addition to the 10,000 homes that are being foreclosed upon.

U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-1, said a bill that has passed the House would provide a 65 percent subsidy for unemployed workers eligible for costly COBRA coverage for 12 months, while those 55 years of age and older laid off after 10 years on the job could receive COBRA until they become Medicare eligible.

Dodd, who is playing a key role on the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, particularly since its chairman, U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., has taken ill, said he is much more optimistic now that reform will happen than 15 years ago when businesses were not on board.

“With this perfect storm of economic challenges comes an opportunity to fundamentally transform health care for the 21st century. This is the moment,” Dodd said.

Dodd said whatever reform package is adopted must be universal, cut costs and stress prevention, and will involve the public and private sectors.

Most of the stories involved health “surprises” that sent middle-income working people into a financial tailspin.

An obviously fit Linda St. Peter, 51, president of the Connecticut Association of Realtors, said she has always followed a healthy lifestyle and is cancer-free after recovering from breast cancer seven years ago. But after her husband died, she lost her insurance and was denied coverage because of her pre-existing condition.

“I’m a contributing member of society. About 50 years from now I am going to die of something, but it is not going to be breast cancer,” she said of discrimination by health insurers.

The listening tour will have other meetings across the state with Tom Daschle, the new head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, scheduled to speak at one of them.

Mary E. O’Leary can be reached at 789-5731 or moleary@nhregister.com.