How would you answer these questions:

Should I pay the rent this month or pay the health insurance premium?

Should I pay the phone bill or pay for my daughter’s antibiotics?

Should I pay to repair the car I drive to work or pay for the cancer diagnostic test I need?

Many Maine voters face these life-and-death decisions on a daily basis. As a judge in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the past 18 years, I have seen people forced to make these choices.

According to Peter Fessenden, who has served for more than 20 years as Maine’s chapter 13 bankruptcy trustee, “Maine families are working two or three low-paying jobs to try to make ends meet. Their plight is bad and getting worse. Most of the families I see on a daily basis cannot afford any health insurance.”

Under the Bush administration, the bleak truth for Maine families is that the health care crisis has gotten worse over the last four years. The Kaiser study which came out last week demonstrated that health care costs have skyrocketed; they are expected to rise even higher next year.

Five million more Americans lost health insurance under the Bush administration. If you are one of the lucky ones who still has insurance, your cost went up for the fourth year in a row. More Americans than ever before have no health insurance, according to recent U.S. Census data.

Americans without health insurance face some frightening prospects. Every year the deaths of 18,000 people can be attributed to a lack of health insurance, according to the June 2004 Families USA study. Uninsured adults are 25 percent more likely to die prematurely than those with private health coverage. Uninsured patients are three times more likely to die than insured patients. When hospitalized, uninsured patients are likely to be in worse condition than insured patients. They get fewer services and they are more likely to get second-rate care.

We are not talking about tummy-tucks here. We’re talking about an asthma inhaler for your daughter; chemotherapy for your mother; prostate cancer surgery for your husband. Forget about preventive medicine. That’s not a possibility.

What has George W. Bush done for Maine families in this health care crisis? He’s given us platitudes about “moving the economy forward” and creating “new opportunity zones.” He’s talked about proposing a tax credit to help poor families. He’s suggested some vague plans about pooling arrangements for businesses. Lots of campaign slogans. No actions. No solutions.

John Kerry is offering specific plans to increase the number of good-paying jobs; to expand federal health coverage for 20 million children and to provide financial incentives to businesses that pay workers in the event of catastrophic illnesses.

It’s time for Maine voters to make a choice.

Carol J. Kenner of Brookline, Mass., is a retired U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Massachusetts and former chief judge, First Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, which includes Maine.