While living in Maine some years ago, my wife suffered a stroke. At the time she had commercial health insurance, being not yet eligible for Medicare. We were paying a few hundred dollars a month for her coverage.

We subsequently moved to Connecticut to be closer to our children. I contacted the same insurance company we had in Maine to enroll my wife and learned, to my shock, that because Connecticut allowed insurers to charge more for pre-existing conditions, her annual premium would be $10,000. Over the next five years, the premium continued to rise, reaching $15,000 a year! We’ve since returned to Maine, and she’s now enrolled in Medicare, with affordable monthly supplemental insurance premiums.

As we approach the midterm elections, we should all be asking: “Which political party and which candidates are more likely to reform our dysfunctional and discriminatory health insurance system?” The answer is not simply to vote for Democrats. President Nixon was about to propose to Congress a universal health insurance program covering all Americans based on the Medicare model. Unfortunately, his impeachment interfered with his initiative.

Consider two questions. “What would happen to you and your family if you lost your current health insurance plan?” Did you know that one of the biggest reasons for filing for personal bankruptcy is that people have medical bills they cannot pay and still meet other obligations, such as their mortgage? Consequently, they lose their homes when the bank declares them in default.

The second question I suggest you think about is “What is your opinion about the argument that all Americans should be guaranteed at least a basic level of quality, affordable and accessible health care?” We’ve already answered that question with a resounding “yes” with the passage of Medicare in 1964, which, despite some people’s fear of government sponsorship, has 50 years of success with very high subscriber satisfaction. Worth thinking about.

Paul Somoza

Newcastle