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Linda Farnes

Published: November 13, 2009

Every 12 minutes, another American dies from lack of health care. Tick, tick, tick...

Florida has one of the highest rates of uninsured in the nation. One in five Floridians, nearly 4 million people, mostly working class people, cannot afford insurance or to see a doctor if they get sick — or suspect they are: Tick, tick, tick.

Our present scheme allows millions of Americans, again mostly working people, to die and become disabled from preventable and treatable conditions because they cannot afford to investigate early symptoms or cannot afford their medication. Every year many thousands of people die or become disabled from stroke, heart disease, vascular disease, glaucoma, complications of diabetes, and undetected early stage cancer. The death or disability of one parent can put an entire family on welfare. To those who say we cannot afford universal health care, I say what America cannot afford is to let our working people continue to go without health care. It is a matter of priorities: Tick, tick, tick.

The current system, which allows an elite few to amass unimaginable wealth while exploiting the misery and suffering of millions of hard-working people, is inherently immoral and opposed to core American values. Big-Business for-profit health insurance giants have shown themselves to be cruel and inhumane stewards of our nation's health and should not be allowed to dominate our health care system one minute longer: Tick, tick, tick.

Now that the House has passed a bill providing nearly universal coverage, it is up to our senators to stand up and do the right thing for hard-working Americans who on their own are powerless against heartless profit-driven health insurance giants. I hope they will do so quickly, because each day they delay, 120 more people die for lack of access to health care: Tick, tick, tick.

When the Senate does pass this desperately needed reform, they will go down in history as the Senate who righted a terrible, long-standing wrong. I urge both of our Florida senators to stand up for the suffering masses and support a public option. It is the moral and humane thing to do, and healthier generations to come will thank them for it: Tick, tick, tick.

Linda Farnes
Lake Placid

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