Socialised Medicine: 1967-2010

As a first-year student at Brigham Young University, 18 years old, fresh from the culture of Farmington, New Mexico and scarcely separated from the conservative political influence of my parents, I turned in a research paper for English 115.

My intriguing title was "The Quality of Medical Services under Socialized Medicine."

I proposed to prove that "compulsory medical care results in a lower standard of individual treatment than is found under the free enterprise system."

I was so convincing in my arguments that my professor awarded me a grade of C+ and wrote that my paper was "adequate."

My major point was obvious to me: "When people must pay their own medical expenses they are not sick as often as if they are not paying their own bill."

Powerful logic, echoed by my Republican Representative Jason Chaffetz tonight: "we're going to sue! The Federal Government can't take away our rights this way!"

Tomorrow I'll put a check in the mail to the Democratic Congressional Association, the DCCC, to thank them (not including the one Utah Democrat, Jim Matheson) for passing a health-care bill that will, for all its warts, make it possible for the 3 of my adult working children who can't afford health insurance under the present system to sign up for insurance.

And then hope for future changes to the system that will bring down costs even more while insuring more and more of us.