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I remember being uninsured.
I prayed to never get sick.
I know many people who live
on such thin hope today.
Some friends got insurance
Through the Affordable Care Act
They could see any physician
Approved by their insurance company.
Even the best insurance companies
Have networks, and you pay extra
If you see an “out of network provider.”
Was their health care rationed?
Health care has always been rationed.
The amount of care you receive
Depends on how much money you have.
Two friends got cancer diagnoses
in an emergency room before
The ACA was passed.
.
By the time an emergency room physician
diagnoses cancer, it is too late for treatment
To do much good. These were productive
people who worked hard every day.
The larger society failed to value their work.
Do not mistake my words.
I am lucky enough to have insurance today.
Many people are not so lucky.
2nd Poem deleted. Taking a break for a while.