EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

America's economy is based on a capitalistic system. Capitalism has as it core principle making a profit. Businesses are developed to sell goods and services by balancing market pressures, competition and cost to make the profit for the owners or investors. Consumers who can afford the product or services offered by the businesses spend their money on the products and services they need or want. If they are short of cash, they do not buy.

If we ascribe medicine in all its component parts to the system of capitalism, there is nothing to fix. The system is not broken. Medical practitioners, hospitals, pharmacies, insurance companies and suppliers work to make a profit. If they do not make a profit, they go out of business. Patients or consumers of health care spend what money they have on the things they need to stay healthy. If they don't have money they don't get care and suffer the consequences. Either way, capitalism is hard at work, profits are being made, most market pressures are being met and competition is kept in check. As a capitalistic venture in American, health care is working fine and does not need to be fixed.

However, if, as you ascribe in your Magna Carta for healthcare , "all people should have access to a common set of health care services that promote the health and well-being of our nation", we have to move from capitalism to a form of socialism.

The plan I am proposing moves basic health care out of the profit arena and into the public service arena. This plan proposes fair wages for health care providers and assurances that basic care and supplies are available to all. The plan does not eliminate private health care providers and their pursuit of profit. Private health care providers could be licensed and function as they do in the current mileau. However, the thrust and major funding would move basic health care for mainstream Americans out of the for-profit arena into a publicly funded plan that provides basic wellness for all citizens.

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