One last time, I plead with Democrats in Congress and the Obama administration, the Health Care Crisis is a State of Emergency. From a study in 1997, we know that more than 100,000 Americans are dying each year because they cannot afford health care. The Health Care Crisis is more than a Crisis. It's quite literally a State Of Emergency.
From a study done in 1997 in the New England Journal of Medicine, http://www.monthlyreview.org/... , we know that there are at least 100,000 people in this country who are dying because they cannot afford health care. And what about those who can afford health insurance, but are denied claims? The number is probably much much larger now and it is a large number of unnecessary deaths.
This is not only a health issue, but a security issue. No attack on the U.S. has ever brought about this kind of ongoing casualty of life. We are in a Health Care State of Emergency. Too harsh of a statement some might say? Well, there's a State of Emergency for the Swine Flu, there ought to be a State of Emergency for the Health Care Crisis.
And I believe Obama should declare this emergency. And in doing so, he can cite the National Emergencies Act to issue an Executive Order to remove the Medicare Age Limit. Executive Orders have been used to start wars and take lives, the President ought to be able to use them to save lives. For those who think this may be too extreme, there is precedence for such an EO. The 1999 Kosovo War was initiated by Executive Order. The military was integrated under an EO. Public Schools were desegregated by EO. Japanese-Americans were interned in camps on EO. Yes, an EO to remove the age limit of Medicare is an extreme move and it would not sit well with many here, but I believe the reason for doing so is an Emergency and a matter of immediate life and death.
We are no doubt in a State of Emergency with so many people dying for lack of health care. It's time to take emergency action, especially if Congress fails to pass Health Care Reform that will save the lives of the more than 100,000 Americans who are dying.