We believe that access to quality health care is as essential to social well being as the availability of food and shelter. It has always been our position that meaningful health care reform must include universal access, a viable and stable financing system, increased attention to the quality of care, and across-the-board accountability.
Over the past sixty years, many solutions have been offered to reform the nation's health care system - a system characterized today by rapidly rising costs and a growing inability of people to pay for it. The New York Times takes a long look at the history of health care reform, from Teddy Roosevelt's campaign promise of national health insurance to the current debates.
Time and again, national reform proposals have been introduced and scrutinized primarily for their fiscal impact. Each time, these proposals have failed to achieve the support necessary to be implemented. We believe fiscal analysis alone is insufficient to the task of reform. As an alternative, we believe the central question of the debate should be: When considering how to provide for the health care needs of its members, what should be expected of a compassionate society? We are taking this position to our local, state, and federal leaders every day to develop a solution that provides quality, compassionate care for all in need.
Our mission calls us to expand access to quality health care to all in need. Every day we see the impact of our broken health care system. The status quo is simply not an option.
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