Happy New Year everyone.

First and foremost, it is great to be back. My surgery was an astounding success thanks to Dr. Donald Annino and his team at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. While I will have a sexy scar across my throat, everything went perfectly and I will even still be able to sing very badly.

In difficult times, you learn so much and I was blessed with the knowledge of how many friends and family members were there for me. The amount of love, concern and support I received was simply overwhelming. No matter how difficult the surgery, it was far surpassed by the love of friends and family. In fact, there is no question that my recovery was greatly enhanced by that love.

There is no way I can thank you all enough except to simply express my gratitude and promise to continue to work side by side with you all to make the world a better place.

As I navigated the complex healthcare and insurance system over the last couple of months, I began to really understand how difficult this process must be for people without resources or a robust network of contacts. Thankfully, I’m blessed with the ability to shake a few lemon trees when needed. However, most American’s can’t do this and more importantly, they shouldn’t have to in order to receive adequate healthcare.

How horrifying it must be for a mother and father to find proper care and treatment for a sick child. Even if they are lucky enough to be insured, they may be denied necessary and timely treatment due to reimbursement restrictions and technicalities. As I worked through this process myself, I found the system to be a total disaster.

Many of our country’s best medical professionals spend far too much of their time fighting insurance companies rather than providing care to their patients. Increasingly, regulations, rules and uncaring bureaucrats force healthcare professionals to give up or settle for less than perfect treatment.

Our obligation is to ensure that every American receives proper healthcare. We must fight for the young and old, especially those are too ill to advocate for their own care and treatment. The right to good health in America is sadly absent for many citizens. This national healthcare crisis is a disgrace to a prosperous nation. We must change it.

Again, my personal deep thanks for all of your love and support.