aboveandbeyond.org

    When you cut through all of the political rhetoric, which is especially difficult to do in our current health care debate, there is still a wide range of shocking medical facts that should not be ignored.  During the recent health care reform debates on the floor of the Senate it was pointed out that if you are a Medicaid patient you have a 5 times greater chance of dying during open heart surgery than a Medicare patient receiving the same procedure.  Even more disappointing to hear was the result of a study by Johns Hopkins University published October 29 in the Journal of Public Health.  According to that study, seriously ill children without health insurance are 60% more likely to die than children with health insurance.  (You can read the article on the Johns Hopkins Children's Center website by clicking here.)  This equates to roughly 1000 children dying every year simply because they do not have health insurance.
    I believe that every American should have access to the same level of health care as that of a U.S. Senator and their family.  As a nation, we can afford it.  Beyond matters of money, to deny quality health care to any American, and especially to a single child, makes America a poorer nation that lacks compassion.  The current model of American health care that derives profit from the denial of care is unacceptable.  The skyrocketing price of health care against the declining incomes of Americans is unsustainable.  In our current economic situation, if health care in America is not reformed fewer Americans will have it and more children will die without it.  Protecting the interests of insurance companies by sacrificing the health and lives of American children and families is inhuman.  We have the technology and knowledge of an advanced medical system at our disposal.  Every American, especially the children, must share those advances and benefits equally.