The Promises of Universal Health Care

Jason,

Thank you for the post, the article is a good reference. I am a fellow Iowan who lives in Ankeny.

My experiences with government sponsored health care hasn't been all that great. My mother and father divorced when I was three leaving my Mom to raise me by herself. We lived on welfare for a short time and could only afford to go to Broadlawns hospital which is a state/county sponsored hospital.

As a youngster I would get severe ear infections. One time the pain was so bad it felt like someone was stabbing my inner ear with an ice pick. My mom took me to Broadlawns where we waited painfully for two hours before a doctor could see me. I specifically remember them putting us in a room to silently wait; probably because of my crying.

Later on in life my Dad offered to put me on his HMO plan which was better but not great. It was frustrating not having a broad choice of doctors. The options of doctors that were available for the HMO plan were spread far across the city so we had to take what we got.

I fear a government--one that can't even offer good customer service at the Department of Motor Vehicles--who wants to take control my health care. My company and I now sponsor my health coverage and while it's not perfect, it is far more perfect than what the government can do.