Published on 12/14/2007

It is interesting to note that the U.S. is the only modern industrialized nation that does not have some sort of universal health coverage. Furthermore, as the cost of insurance coverage in the U.S. continues to rise far faster than inflation and benefits continue to decline, our society is facing an increasingly urgent crises—the number of uninsured continues to sky rocket, while the under-insured middle class continues to expand. The result is record numbers of both children and adults who do not receive even basic timely medical attention, and when they do, they tend to run to costly emergency rooms in record numbers.

Right-wing conservatives love to demonize "socialized medicine," but certainly not all "socialized medicine" is the same. In this country we pride ourselves on providing free public education for everyone, then why can't we provide at least some baseline level of medical care for everyone, especially kids? Some such coverage already exists and could certainly be expanded. This would not stop individuals from choosing to get additional private coverage, but it would provide a much needed benefit to those that cannot afford even adequate basic coverage. Taxes would go up, but I would be perfectly happy to pay higher taxes if that means I can actually get decent basic coverage without paying thousands a year in insurance premiums for unused coverage that actually does not cover much.