To the Editor:

I was dumbfounded and ecstatic to read the article in the July/August issue about the effort to push for universal coverage. Of course, it only makes sense that the AAFP and the AMA, among others, are behind this initiative. It is an idea whose time has come.

As family physicians, we must push for universal health coverage. We're the people on the front line who see those with inadequate or no insurance. We're the ones who agonize over getting good health care for them when they can't afford what they need. In the richest country in the world, health care coverage is a right that every citizen must have. I'm ashamed that this great country of ours does not provide for our citizens what some of the poorest countries in the world are trying to provide for theirs.

How can family physicians get involved and make a difference so that this initiative becomes a reality?

Editor's note:

We asked the AAFP for a response and received the following reply from Lanny Copeland, MD, chair of the AAFP Task Force on Universal Coverage: I believe as family physicians we have a moral imperative to push this agenda along. We must take every opportunity to talk in our communities about universal health care coverage. Civic groups are a good forum, and many newspapers welcome physician-written articles on topics such as this. Reform must be done on a national level, but where it begins and where it eventually will be implemented is at the local level.