My whole life I had heard my family debate universal healthcare. “You know who wants that? Welfare leeches. You want healthcare, you oughta work for it. Nothing in this country is free.” For years, I had echoed this rhetoric. Healthcare, my family had assured me, should be earned. But now all I could think was, should it? What would happen if I walked into a hospital here with an emergency but no Blue Cross card? Would they take me? If they did, would I receive the same quality care as everyone else? And most importantly, would it be worth it to seek care, or would I rather die than pay the
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