Letter: U.S. must catch up to the rest of the world

Sunday, May 6, 2007 | 7:04 a.m.

The United States spends double what other nations do to provide a patchwork health care system. Despite this spending, more than 47 million Americans have no insurance, and tens of millions more, who may have basic health insurance, can't afford the co-payments, prescription costs and other fees their insurance calls for.

The solution is to provide universal health care to all Americans. We are the only industrialized nation that doesn't have such a program. Here is a list of countries who currently provide for their citizens with universal health care:

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, The Republic of China (Taiwan) and the United Kingdom. These countries have various types of universal health care systems.

I realize that such a program would have to be phased in, and that all the medical cabal, insurance and pharmaceutical companies, the AMA, and other such institutions will fight this tooth and nail. But the system we have now is broken for too many Americans, and it will only get worse. It's time to join with the rest of the world and give all Americans proper health care.

Richard J. Mundy, Las Vegas