“I’ve always used the V.A., and it’s very good. I feel comfortable in it. I do believe in universal healthcare, but I’m skeptical it’ll ever pass; because of lobbying it’s not going to pass, doctors don’t want it, chemical companies don’t want it.”

Michael Abshire, Shepherdstown

“I like the idea of Universal healthcare. I can’t afford my health insurance as a poor college student living on my own.”

Courtney Bouldin, Shepherd University student

“If we don’t get the preventative healthcare to treat people with diseases, this will affect the health of our people in the long-run. If we had preventative healthcare, in the long-run our costs would go down. So yes, I am for Universal healthcare. I just want to be able to pick my physician.”

Don Rohel,

concerned citizen

“My experience as a human being and nurse first make me passionate in my belief that all people deserve access to healthcare. The U.S. spends more money on ‘healthcare’ and yet ranks so low in many important outcomes, such as infant mortality and preventable deaths. To me this makes it a moral imperative to change a system that is so broken.”

Ardyth Gilbertson, Director, Student Health Services, Shepherd University

– Compiled by Lara Liptak, Chronicle staff