Letter to the editor: Providing universal health care can help our economy

Talk about it

Change can be tough. We are afraid the unknown might be worse than the known.

Google “World’s 10 Largest Exporters” and you see Germany is the world’s largest exporter in value of goods. China is second, United States third, Japan fourth and France fifth. To exceed the U.S. and China in value of exports, the small country of Germany is doing something right. They also make sure everyone has health care.

We are behind the rest of the industrialized world in how our health care system cares for us. According to the World Health Organization (www.geographic. org), the ranking of the world’s countries in overall health systems, France placed first, England 18th, Germany 25th, Canada 30th and the U.S. 37th.

We spend more than double what most industrialized countries spend on medical care. The U.S. is allowing more preventable deaths per capita than any other industrialized nation. And at double the cost!

Germany and France are not much bigger than North Dakota. While patriotic we can’t be so arrogant as to believe America can’t learn something from others.

As a Christian I see a paradox in how some believers are for ending abortion but are OK with allowing preventable deaths of fellow Americans. In the Bible story of the Good Samaritan, the religious leader passed by the injured man along the road and did nothing to help. The Samaritan helped the stranger with the immediate need and provided for future care. We cannot disregard this teaching and leave millions in this country uninsured.

Health care reform might be scary but it is a change we all need.

Sen. Tim Mathern

Fargo

(Mathern, a Democrat, represents District 11 in the North Dakota Legislature)

Tags: opinion, letters, healthcare, public, universal