One of Kerry's signature issues picking up steam

Access to affordable heath care should be a right in this country. An important part of John Kerry's campaign in 2004 was to move the country toward covering the 45 million Americans without any health insurance. His Kids First Act, which he continues to promote is a good start to cover our 11 million uninsured children. This is the future of America we're talking about here.

In a recent article focusing on Ohio (a closely fought swing state in 2004 which ultimately cost Kerry the election) we see how they and other states, along with doctors and even religious organizations are starting to take the lead on advocating for a universal health care system.

No system is perfect, but the goal is to move toward a more efficient yet affordable system which offers basic services to those who would otherwise have no insurance whatsoever. Even corporate America and small business owners are starting to see the merits of a more universal system, as they cope to keep up with skyrocketing premiums.

Universal Health Care Push Being Revived

"There are positives and negatives with all types of health systems," Sheils said. "The question that has to be asked is what are we getting out of our existing multipayer system that is worth all the money we are spending on it?"

In any event, voters are still leery. A Kaiser Foundation poll released earlier this year found that 55 percent of Americans opposed a single-payer health system. Thirty-seven percent favored it.

Knowing that, some states are taking incremental approaches.

Maine started enrolling people this year in a state-private program that offers affordable health coverage to small businesses and families. The goal is to bring coverage to the 130,000 Mainers who lack it by 2009.