And we still hear universal health care scorned and reviled. We still hear the myths about having to wait months and months for simple medical procedures which will be horribly botched by British or Canadian or French or German or Swiss doctors. Meanwhile, 47 million adults and about 10 million children have no health insurance. Since 2001, premiums for family coverage have increased 78%, while wages have gone up 19%. In 2007, the annual premium for a family of four was $12,106. Additionally, fewer businesses are
offering health benefits, and employment has shifted to jobs where health benefits are less likely to be offered.

Medical debts are the largest cause of bankruptcy in the US. 68 percent of those who filed for bankruptcy had health insurance. In addition, the study found that 50 percent of all bankruptcy filings were partly the result of medical expenses. Every 30 seconds in the United States someone files for bankruptcy in the aftermath of a serious health problem. These facts, by the way, come from an insurance company: http://www.kff.org/uninsured/upload/1420_09.pdf

Per person, the US spends MORE money insuring LESS of a percentage of people than ALLother major, western, industrialized nations. More money per person, less people covered.

The solution … as in most of these other countries: universal health care, single payer setup. Why hasn’t it happened here? Special interest groups. Corporate control of the legislative process through lobbying, campaign contributions and porkbarrelling.

P.S. If you’re going to argue this point, do yourself a favor and come up with facts from respected periodicals. Do a detailed, factual comparison of other western countries’ health systems. Then write. Otherwise, you’re just repeating republican, pro-corporate, pro-pharma, pro-insurance talking points. And we’ve heard enough of those to bring us to this disastrous point. “Nuff said.

The 3 words I want the next Prez to say as his/her first words after being sowrn in…
ARREST THESE MEN.