EDITORIAL: Universal: Medical human right

Nov. 4, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Canada provides universal medical care for every Canadian. England does likewise for every Briton. Ditto for France, Germany, Scandinavia, Japan and virtually all other advanced democracies.

Residents of those nations know they live in compassionate countries where they won't be abandoned if they become sick. They're proud to belong to humane societies that leave nobody behind. To them, medical care is a human right. It's a matter of decency and morality.

All those nations enjoy superior rates of health, and spend less on medical care.

Only the United States, with for-profit treatment and insurance, leaves 45 million Americans with no coverage -- and produces inferior health rates -- and has the world's most expensive care. America's system is a disgrace, compared to most of the world.

Now that reform-minded Democrats have gained control in Washington, a historic catch-up seems imminent. Congress is on the brink of giving America the same universal care that exists in other developed lands. It promises to be a landmark U.S. improvement as great as the creation of Social Security amid the Great Depression.

Conservative commentators rant that health-for-all is socialism, and some Tea Party protesters irrationally call it fascism. Evidently these "aginners" think Canada, England, France, Germany and the rest are evil because they offer safety nets for all families. But remember: The same hard-line U.S. conservatives likewise fought Social Security when it began. History rolled past them in the 1930s, and we hope it happens again in 2009.

Sensing that universal care may be inescapable this time, some right-wingers demand an American system operated solely by commercial insurance corporations, letting them continue reaping profits from sickness. But a bandwagon for a government-run "public option" is rolling. New estimates from congressional researchers say the latter would save $100 billion over the next decade, compared to costs of for-profit insurers.

We hope a public option becomes the heart of America's new universal care plan. By providing low-cost insurance, it would force commercial corporations to match cheap government rates or go out of business.

Most importantly, it's essential for the United States finally to join the civilized world in making medicine a human right for everyone. Let the Rush Limbaughs and Sean Hannitys scream. They can sink into the past, while the rest of America moves upward morally.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0226-39430632