A few years ago, a tumor was discovered in my neck, and I became a cancer statistic.

Very fortunately, I had good health coverage through my employer that year. I went through a very harrowing and very dibilitating regime of simultaneous radiation and chemotherapy which left me completely non-functional for several months. In the end, the cancer was completely eradicated and I have survived pretty much "home-free," although the radiation (directed to the lower half of my skull) has left some lifelong aftereffects: damaged teeth and gums, limited saliva production, scar-tissue throat lining, and no thyroid function at all.

The "list prices" for my daily treatments and other services were so astronomical as to be laughable. Blue Cross/Blue Shield took care of it all, thanks to my having been paying premiums, in the form of barely-noticeable payroll deductions. Of course, my employer had also been chipping in as well. Even so, I'm sure that the total premiums rendered in my name, during the entire period of my employment with the company, were significantly less than the total amount of all the bills. (Of course, the insurance companies do not pay the full list price, but still...)

First of all, let me aknowledge that I was luckier than many in having the system work for me "as advertised." I know very well that not everyone has the same experience.

Because that entire incident took place under the aegis of the established system, no one is going to accuse me of "accepting charity," and I can enjoy my renewed health with absolutely no qualms about whether I was able to get through that crisis without besmirching my credit rating and my financial "honor."

Things are different now. With the arrival of Hurricane Katrina, I lost that job and the associated benefits. The company shut down briefly, resumed operations with a "skeleton crew" in a different city for a while, and eventually came back home. I'm back at work for them again, but this time on a contract basis, paid by the hour with no health insurance and no other benefits, and making considerably less money per week. When my wife and I need medical care now, we turn to the state free-care system, along with the many other "medically indigent" folks in our area.

The waiting times and other such bullshit is more difficult than what I had experienced before in the "private sector," but I have every confidence that the actual medical care is absolutley OK. If this is any foreshadowing of a future "one-payer" system, I have no problem with it.

What kind of galls me is the idea that some people would think I should be ashamed of having to resort to "welfare" or some such nonsense. When I had conventional coverage back in 2005, I had my life saved at very little out-of-pocket expense, and that was perfectly OK. When I need medical care now, in slightly different circumstances (I'm still working, I'm just not being compensated nearly as well), I'm going to feel just as guilt-free as before, even though the treatment will necessarily be financed in a different manner.