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Vote “yes” on Proposition 2. As a family doctor in Idaho for 25 years, I have the privilege of hearing life stories of so many from all walks. Some of the most heartbreaking are from those who have illness or injury but no health insurance for needed care so they can return to work or enjoy their family life.

I recently spoke to a young mother of a 6-year-old girl, working as an office receptionist married to a construction worker, both of whom worked multiple part time jobs to provide for their family and contribute to the community. She had asthma. The daughter required braces. The parents did not have employer-provided insurance because they worked less than full time at each employer and they did not qualify for state insurance as currently structured. They saved everything they could to pay for the braces. Then she got sick and could not afford the inhalers for her asthma many of which are $300-400 per month. Her breathing got so labored that it was difficult to do her job without coughing or wheezing on the phone.

Like this couple, 70 percent of the 62,000 Idahoans currently unable to qualify for insurance in Idaho work full-time. This includes 1,570 in Bonner County. The Legislature has repeatedly failed to act. It is time now for the voter initiative Proposition 2 to expand state health insurance. It is our time to vote “yes” to help our friends and family who deserve essential health care.

SCOTT DUNN, M.D.

Sandpoint