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Rashi Fein, PhD

JAMA. 2003;290:818-820.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

The article by The Physicians' Working Group for Single-Payer National Health Insurance¹ in this issue of THE JOURNAL should re-energize the much needed debate on universal health insurance. More than 40 million Americans lack health insurance² and nearly 60 million are without health insurance for a portion of the year.³ Employers face rising health insurance premiums, and their employees face increasing cost-sharing. There are ongoing and increasing disagreements about health benefits coverage. Physicians, hospital administrators, home health agency financial officers, and others are increasingly frustrated with the confusion and inefficiencies of the current multiple payment mechanisms. In these fiscally troubled times, state legislators are having difficulty finding funds to support Medicaid and free-care pools. Clearly, there must be a "simpler and better way."

Proposals for and debates surrounding universal health insurance certainly are not new. It has now been a decade since President Clinton put forth his . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Author Affiliation: Department of Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.

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