Health Care for All

A health care crisis hit my family three weeks ago.  It wasn’t my 80-year-old father or 77-year-old mother.  My 49-year-old kid brother had a stroke.

Jon has had a tough time in recent years.  He was let go from a job in his journalism field after 18 years.  He started working as a cook in a restaurant, a job he loved despite the long days, hard work, and low pay.

The most important mystery surrounding swine flu is the severity of the illness.  Why have almost all the cases in the U.S. been mild while there have been 176 suspected deaths so far in Mexico?

Rather than waiting for the state or the federal government to act, the city of San Francisco has figured out how to offer affordable health care to its residents. Twenty-seven clinics provide medical care to residents whose income is 500% of the federal poverty limit or less ($52,000 for an individual). Participants are charged for routine medical care, hospital visits, testing and prescription drugs on a sliding scale dependent upon income. Healthy San Francisco even covers treatment for mental illness and substance abuse!

Learn more on this CNN report: