About Kaiser Permanente| CEO Corner

September 14, 2007

George Halvorson Article in Sacramento Bee: 'It's Time to Give Health Care to All'

There are two Americas when it comes to health care — a fully insured, primarily white America, and a disproportionately uninsured minority America — and reforming America's health care system is imperative if we are to erase that disparity, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals' Chairman and CEO George Halvorson wrote Sept. 14 in the Sacramento (Calif.) Bee.

The topic is particularly urgent in California, where Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called a special session of the Legislature on Tue., Sept. 11, to push through a health care reform bill and other urgent legislation.

Three out of every four uninsured Californians belong to ethnic minorities. Uninsured people are less likely to receive needed primary care, George writes, and are far more likely to suffer the consequences of untreated diseases.

"There really are two Americas when it comes to health care — the fully insured, primarily white America and the disproportionately uninsured minority America," Halvorson wrote. "More than half of the total uninsured people in this country are minority. That fact alone should make the need to cover everyone in America a pure ethical imperative. This issue is not about economics — it is about equality. Universal coverage should be the next major civil rights issue for this country to face."

Read Halvorson's entire opinion piece in the Sacramento Bee. Note: The Sacramento Bee, as do many online publications, may require a free registration to access this and other articles.