Ron Wyatt, MD, MHA

Thucydides, the Greek father of “scientific history” stated that “Justice will not come...until those who are not injured are as indignant as those who are.”

The 2008 Insurance company CEO compensations are:
• Aetna, $24,300,112
• Cigna, $12,236,740
• Coventry, $9,047,468
• Health Net, $4,425,355
• Humana, $4,744,309
• U. Health Group,$3,241,042
• Wellpoint, $9,844,212

While these corporate CEOs rake in millions of dollars, the healthcare system in the U.S. crumbles: These are the disturbing facts:
• 46.3 million people in the U.S. lacked health care coverage for all of 2008, up from 45.7 million in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
• The number insured by employer sponsored insurance declined from 177.4 million in 2007 to 176.3 million in 2008.
• Nearly 83% of the uninsured live in families headed by workers.
• Almost two-thirds of uninsured workers have an employer who doesn’t offer coverage.
• An estimated $2.2 trillion was spent on health care in the U.S. during 2007, while the U.S. was ranked thirty-seventh in overall health care performance in the world by the World Health Organization.

It is time for a new kind of insurance. It’s obvious that the private market insurance system is not willing or capable of achieving full insurance coverage for all Americans. Private insurance could cover the uninsured but the premiums would not be affordable. The uninsured need health insurance and health care. So, how do we provide health insurance and health care for all? We need a national health care system that can achieve a redistributive insurance program that private markets alone cannot and will not provide.

A single payer system will provide coverage for all, with lower administrative costs than private insurance. Although the costs are difficult to quantify, single payer provides the peace of mind that insurance coverage brings against individuals’ uncertainties and fears of unknown health care costs. Insurance coverage for all is likely to improve health care through provision of preventive care services, screenings, early detection of disease and timely interventions. Although extending health insurance to all may not save money, it is worth the costs.

Those who argue that we should not do anything need to be reminded that inaction means our costs will double again in 10 years.

Universal health insurance is a human rights issue, a civil rights issue and a moral issue. We need comprehensive health reform that extends coverage to all and will reward high quality, high value, just health care.

Martin Luther King Jr., after the Selma-Montgomery March, stated “The arc of the moral universe bends towards justice.”