The United States of America (USA) has the worst form of healthcare financing of any other developed nation in the world. USA citizens pay, on average, twice per capita than citizens of any other developed nation. USA is the only developed nation in the world that does not have some form of government financed healthcare for ALL of its citizens. USA ranks quite low in many important healthcare outcome categories. See a pattern here?
USA has a financing system based on a “free-market” economic concept. It is important to point out that our need for medical care is not well suited for a “free-market” system. The “free-market” concept is predicated on the premise that the parties involved in the contract/agreement have equal choice/power in the arrangements. In the case of our medical needs we seldom choose to become ill or injured. At the point of need we have little choice/power in our need for care. The power/choice is in the hands of the provider (in this case the insurance, pharmaceutical, medical equipment/supply, and some for-profit hospital/clinic industries).
It is for these reasons that I would strongly encourage the enactment into law H.R. 676. This resolution would establish a national government financed healthcare plan which would take the profit out of healthcare. This would eliminate the burden on businesses of providing their employees healthcare benefits. It would remove the dependence of employment in order to have healthcare benefits. Yes, we would all pay a little more in taxes in order to fund this financing plan, but we would pay less than we now pay for our healthcare insurance premiums. This would reduce costs to businesses as well as to employees in regard to our healthcare financing. We would join the rest of the developed world in providing all of our citizens the healthcare financing that they need and would improve our standing in many healthcare outcome categories.
For more information on H.R. 676 see www.pnhp.org (Physicians for a National Health Plan), www.healthcare-NOW.org , www.mforallorg. , or www.madashelldoctors.com Become informed … get involved. Let us provide for one another this very basic and important human need. Let us create healthcare freedom, justice and equality.
Terryflowers Blog 
Health care is at least as basic to a strong country as education, so should have always been as available as free education, eh?
That’s right Sue. Yet we seem to continue to weaken our public education through inadequate funding. I have teachers in my family who continue to spend their own money on materials/supplies for their classroom/students. We need to better prioritize our nation’s spending.