The only thing that stops us from having a Universal Healthcare plan in the US is the corporate plutocracy that owns Congress and the President. If done correctly it would end the need for private, for-profit health insurance companies, rein in the outrageous price gouging of Big Pharma and create more equity in the level of care available to all citizens no matter where they live, rural or urban. These are things our present capitalist, profit-motivated system cannot abide and they are fighting tooth and nail to preserve the status quo. Until we take corporate and private money out of the election process and fund all campaigns publicly we will not see universal healthcare in this country.

I don't know how dental and vision ever got separated from general "health care" but keeping them separate is totally PREPOSTEROUS! Dental disease was once the major killer of middle aged men. An infected tooth can lead to many consequent illnesses. Additionally, having a healthy looking smile has been shown to greatly improve potential earnings.

Vision is the sense we depend upon more than all the others put together. Defects is vision can lead to all manner of serious accidents. It is as vital to good health as healthy blood pressure.

So yes, we should have universal healthcare. However, it should cover ALL aspects of health, not just the ones we have traditionally included.

Absolutely.

I waited to start my own business until the ACA actually kicked in. I walked away from corporate America with the understanding that my wife and I could both buy affordable coverage. I take the attempts of the GOP to destroy this as "fighting words." I've always wondered if anything could induce me to buy gun, and take a shot at an elected official. THIS ISSUE is that thing. I'm a peace loving person, but threaten my life, or the life of a loved one, and you will see the side of me that will fight for my life. Oh, and I've never owned a gun in my whole life. Still don't but.....

Need is the incorrect metric by which to justify a basic safety net. Need is really a question of degree. No matter how high up the Mazlovian pyramid you are, you will eventually die. The real justification is connectedness. We are all better off with a healthy, educated populace. It should be realized, however, that education and healthcare are not rights. That's why they are subject to moral hazard and the tragedy of the commons. They are, rather, worthy benefits that should be delivered as efficiently as possible. Rights are inherent. Governments obstruct or enforce them but do not create them. The question of whether govt benefits should be rights is a specious one, they simply aren't.

The U.S. is falling way behind other countries as far as human rights, standards of living, wages and healthcare. The U.S. is just number 1 in two areas. Military spending and the number of people who believe in angels.

It's well past time to offer that privilege to all.

I was raised on that concept with another name 60 years ago.

the US needs to stop being the only major economy in the world where where a health problem or a child born with problems could cause the family's bankruptcy.

Oh, definitely. The USA has the worst healthcare in the developed world. It also has the most expensive healthcare in the developed world. Universal healthcare isn't just better and fairer, it's also far more efficient.

DEFINITELY-We need to bypass all the insurance companies judgement on life and death. Everyone should receive health care regardless of income. We are letting the poor die-with the new tax bill the killer Republicans are proposing.

Without a doubt. We are the ONLY nation in the industrialized world that does not have universal healthcare. It is a clear expression of concern for the well-being of our people. The only reasons that we do not have it are (1) the culture of greed in this country, (2) ignorance, (3) moribund and false Republican ideology.