On our way.

摘要

In my editorial in the last issue of MCN (March/April 2009) I wrote about the possibility of universal healthcare coverage-at last-for U.S. citizens because of our recent election and a new president. I don't want MCN readers to think that my words are political, for they are not. I would be praising any president from any political party who was moving healthcare to the top of the agenda. In my estimation, healthcare coverage for U.S. citizens is the most important method of improving maternal and child health. I'm so happy to be able to report that, as I write this editorial in February 2009 (publication processes take a few months!), the first step of this new U.S. focus on availability of healthcare has already occurred. Healthcare for most citizens in the United States comes through private insurance, administered through one's employer, if the employer chooses to offer it. If your job is lost, so is your healthcare insurance. For the poorest in our country, the government provides health insurance called Medicaid. There are many who also fall somewhere in the middle, having a job which does not provide health insurance, and making just enough money to prevent them from qualifying for Medicaid. These people have no health insurance at all. I'm happy to tell you that our new president has signed a bill which will cover 11 million children. This is huge. I think it's important enough to cease writing my own words here, and to show you the words used by our new president when he signed it: