A few years ago, Stephen King was hospitalized after being struck by a car. Jay Leno remarked that the king of horror's latest book would be entitled, "HMO". Although the joke was funny, it points out a sad fact. The United States is the wealthiest democracy, yet we lack faith in our health care system. Many people have little or no health coverage. An estimated forty-two million Americans are uninsured. Another forty million are underinsured. A May 2003 poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation revealed that the highest concern among Americans was health care costs. Not even terrorism, losing jobs, or paying rent and mortgages rated anywhere as high. Then why hasn’t more been done about it? There have been proposals. Congressman Conyers (D, Michigan) introduced the National Health Insurance Act (HR676), which is still on the floor. This would create a new national health insurance program. HMOs would be replaced by a "single-payer" health care provided by the US government. The program would cover all medically necessary needs. Non-necessities such as cosmetic surgery would not be covered - that's where private insurers would come in. The program extends to all U.S. residents. The bill doesn’t mention if illegal aliens would be covered. The proposed budget would reduce health spending from $1.918 trillion to $1.861 trillion per year, according to Congressman Conyers. If this bill is passed, families that spend $5,000 to $7,000 dollars will only pay 525 dollars annually on health, How does the bill reduce spending, when it covers more people? The bill would greatly reduce paperwork and costs associated with it. There would be a personal income tax increase for the top 5% of income earners. Also, there would be an establishment of a modest payroll tax. There is a problem with the bill. When looking at different sources, the numbers on how much is spent on health care is vague. On Congressman Conyers’ website, there are no specifics on how much the government would pay for health care. The problem is correctly estimating national health care costs. Isn’t it time for all Americans to receive affordable national health care? More than 80 million people are uninsured or underinsured, and most people face possible loss of coverage if they lose their jobs or suffer financial reversals. If you agree, you can contact your representatives to support this much-needed act
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