O*Last spring, I had the privilege of serving as the chair of the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (AID). When I leave that place, I think about where I think the country of health is going to be, and the obstacles we face.
We are the richest nation on earth. There is no reason why we are not the healthiest on Earth. We must lead the world in terms of life expectancy, disease prevention, low infant and maternal mortality, quality of life and human happiness. Sadly, study after study shows the opposite. Although we spend almost twice as much per capita on health care, we attract the wealthiest people in all of these countries.
If he is going to reform our broken and dysfunctional health care system and “Make America Healthy Again,” this is it some what should we do?
Medicare for All
Healthcare is a human right. The role of a rational health care system is to provide quality health care for all, not large profits for the insurance industry. The United States cannot be the only wealthy nation that does not provide universal care. We don’t like the fact that, with nearly 18% of our GDP spent on health care, millions of Americans have to wait at the doctor’s office and 60,000 Americans die every year because they can’t afford the care they need.
Below is the cost of prescription drugs
As Americans, they are not paying the highest prices in the world for life-saving drugs. It is ironic that, while the pharmaceutical industry enjoys huge profits and benefits from US research, one in four Americans cannot afford to buy prescription drugs from doctors. We need to cut prescription drug prices in half to make sure we don’t pay more for medicine than Europeans or Canadians.
Farewell to the family and medicine
Workers should not go to work when they are sick. Mothers and fathers should have ample time to stay at home with their newborn babies. A fired parent should not stay home with a sick child. We must provide at least 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave to everyone working in America.
Reform the food industry
Big food corporations should not make a record breaking profit by feeding children addicted to processed foods that make them overweight and prone to diabetes and other diseases. First, we need to send junk-food ads targeted at kids and strong warning labels on products high in sugar, salt and saturated fat. Longer term, we can rebuild America’s rural family farms that produce healthy, nutritious food.
Raise the minimum wage to a living wage
Many workers don’t have to worry about how they’re going to pay their rent or buy food for their kids. Working class Americans live far shorter lives than the rich because of the struggle to survive in a paycheck to paycheck existence. Stress kills. Thank you very much. We must raise the minimum wage to a minimum of $17 an hour.
Below is a work week of 32 hours with no loss of pay
People live longer and healthier lives if they can spend more time with family and friends and have time to enjoy their leisure time. Advances in technology, automation and artificial intelligence should benefit workers, not just billionaires on Wall Street or Silicon Valley.
Struggle with the plague of loneliness, isolation and mental illness
Too many Americans suffer from high anxiety and the “diseases of despair” – alcoholism, drug addiction and even death. Not only do we need to greatly increase access to mental health care, we need to rebuild a sense of community and create a culture in which we better enjoy and value each other as human beings. We must also look at the harsh impact smartphones and social media have on our mental and physical health.
Talk about the climate and environmental crisis
Every American is affected as the Earth’s temperature rises and the air we breathe becomes polluted. Climate change and extreme weather events will cause widespread suffering and disease, economic disruption and human dislocation. Air pollution is a major risk factor for respiratory and heart disease, cancer and other health problems. The fossil fuel industry is not allowed to continue to make us sick, shorten our lives and destroy the planet.
Create a high-quality public education system
Life long education is a human right and should be available to everyone in a wealthy nation like ours. Health, life expectancy and economic well-being are often linked to educational attainment. Instead of spending 1tn a year on the military we should make sure all Americans, from kindergarten to graduate school, can enjoy free, GENERAL education and job training.
Let it be clear. The path to a healthy society is neither radical nor complicated. Many of the elements already existed, in one form or another, in many countries around the world.
Our real problem is not so much a health crisis as a political and economic one. It is necessary for us to limit the greed we experience to the unusual levels of our bodies. We need to create a government and an economy that works for everyone, not just the rich and powerful few.
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Bernie Sanders He is a US senator and chairs the Department of Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Vermont means state, and it is the longest serving state independent in the history of Congress