Health care must be a basic right in U.S.

Now is the time to make sure that all our citizens are able to get the health care they need. A public option is a must. It will bring real competition to the insurance industry.

We must put the welfare of our citizens above profit. Health care must now be a basic right, as it is in most other countries.

A public option will give people a chance to choose what is best for them and their family. It can free them to follow the path in life they want. Right now there are people working at jobs they hate - for insurance; people who would like to retire early but can't - because of insurance; people who would work part time but can't - because of insurance. Some would like to work on their own or start a small business but because of a health problem they can't do it because they can't get insurance, so continue to work at a company so they can get it. Without health care your very life is at jeopardy. Without health care you cannot have the liberty to pursue happiness.

The World Health Organization ranks the U.S. 37th in overall health system performance, although the nation is first when it comes to overall money spent on health care. The uninsured in this country suffer and die prematurely. Sixty percent of all bankruptcy claims are because of medical bills. Even people with health insurance cannot now afford their medications, co-pays and deductibles. Many cannot get the treatments they need.

Every American needs to be able to walk into a health care provider's office and get the care they need, and be treated with dignity, not as some second class citizen because they don't have insurance and can't afford the care they need.

Cynthia Barber

Algonquin