People are acting as if none of us has ever encountered this single-payer health care plan. I would say that many of us have not only experienced it but lived under it. For the 26 years my husband served in the U. S. Navy and the 20 years my father served, I lived under single-payer health care run by the government, no frills, but you got what you needed.

I will admit to being occasionally frustrated with it but it actually served us well and when one of my children had a strange and frightening symptom Navy doctors went to the wall to help us. I know this has been other people’s experience, too, because I know many who stayed active duty to maintain health care for a family member who needed special care.

As a matter of fact my son serving in the Air Force, has a son who was diagnosed with NonHodgkin lymphoma while they were serving in Japan, his care has been so thorough, everyone at Madigan has been incredible. This level of care would have cost our family money we do not have, and we would have had to live in fear of the insurance company dropping us.

I know universal health care may mean I have to sacrifice something but I am willing to do that so that every one of us has a basic level of health care, I think we can do it better than Canada or England and I believe it is a basic human right.

Pat Wallace

Oak Harbor