Health Care Horror Stories

As Obama struggles to promote his health care reform ideas against all odds, it's bringing to mind various nightmares I've experienced on the subject--particularly when I didn't have health care. As fate would have it, that was the one time I needed serious medical attention!

It was way back in the '80s, when I ended up in the hospital with a head injury (explains a lot, no?). I foolishly had no insurance--I figured I was so young and invulnerable (and cheap)--and I ended up with a hospital bill that exceeded the gross national product of Liechtenstein. A local nightclub nicely threw me a benefit to defray the cost, but that night, after the all-star lineup of bands performed to save my ass, the police raided the club for various offenses and took off with every penny of the money earned. At least that's what I was told by the owner!

All the scraping, whoring, and begging that followed in order for me to pay my bill is best forgotten, along with the fact that my butt still ached from laying in bed that long.

Your worst health care (or non health care) horror?