Hawai'i had high insurance coverage rates even before the Affordable Health Care Act and continues to have a high percentage of the population with health insurance today. However, high insurance rates can disguise wide variation in what is covered and what it costs. In this essay, an Australian Masters in Public Health student from the University of Hawai'i considers the strengths and weaknesses of insurance coverage in the US health-care system when her friend "Peter" becomes seriously ill.