The United States in the only major industrialized nation that does not provide universal health care for all its citizens. Around 16% of Americans--that is, over 47 million people--live day to day without health care, vulnerable to personal tragedy and financial disaster if one major illness strikes. In a controversial study in 2000, the World Health Orgnization ranked the U.S. health care system #1 in money spent and #1 in responsiveness—for those who have it. But, WHO ranked the U.S. health care system #37 in overall performance and #72 (out of 191 nations studied) in overall level of health.

1. Provide Nationwide Health Care for All


2. Strengthen Medicare and Medicaid


3. Revamp Prescription Drug Plans


4. Have the Government Negotiate for Lower Drug Prices

• Regina Herzlinger, Who Killed HealthCare?: America's $2 Trillion Medical Problem — and the Consumer-Driven Cure (McGraw-Hill, 2007).
  
  
• Laurence J. Kotlikoff, The Healthcare Fix: Universal Insurance for All Americans (MIT Press, 2007).
  
  
• Arnold Relman, A Second Opinion: Rescuing America's Health Care (Public Affairs, 2007).
  
  

• Sicko, by Michael Moore (Weinstein Company, 2007)