Summary. Poor nutrition, lack of exercise, sleep deprivation, toxic food, contaminated water, unclean air, and a harmful American lifestyle are causing a health crisis in the United States that would bankrupt any universal healthcare plan.
For this reason, the United States Government is now evaluating ways to promote the level of national wellness necessary so that universal healthcare can be made available.
Commentary. Below is a commentary by Gregory Johnson on the topic of universal healthcare.
We’ve made it difficult and costly in the United States for people to get access to healthcare services and wellness resources. After decades of neglecting this desperate societal need, U.S. citizens are collectively experiencing a health crisis that’s resulted in the U.S. being ranked lower than many other countries in the world.
The initial cost of providing universally accessible and affordable healthcare in the United States will be hugely expensive because of the poor health we are in.
We can’t wait for the people of the United States to become as healthy as Canadians (and citizens of other countries with universal healthcare), before offering universal healthcare in the United States. We must take the initial step of faith to bring health and wellness to our citizens. Only then can we enjoy the declining cost of healthcare that we’ll experience after our nation becomes more healthy.
I believe our approach to creating universally accessible and affordable healthcare in the United States will be unlike anything else ever done. I’m confident we’ll learn from the challenges and failings of other systems, and make something even better.
Quote. Below is a quote from Martin Luther King, JR. about healthcare.
Of all the forms of inequity, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
Video. Below is a video presenting thoughts on this issue.
Further Reading. More information is available from the Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP). From the PNHP website:
Physicians for a National Health Program is a single issue organization advocating a universal, comprehensive single-payer national health program. PNHP has more than 18,000 members and chapters across the United States.
Since 1987, we’ve advocated for reform in the U.S. health care system. We educate physicians and other health professionals about the benefits of a single-payer system–including fewer administrative costs and affording health insurance for the 46 million Americans who have none.
Our members and physician activists work toward a single-payer national health program in their communities. PNHP performs ground breaking research on the health crisis and the need for fundamental reform, coordinates speakers and forums, participates in town hall meetings and debates, contributes scholarly articles to peer-reviewed medical journals, and appears regularly on national television and news programs advocating for a single-payer system.
PNHP is the only national physician organization in the United States dedicated exclusively to implementing a single-payer national health program.