Health Reform Foes Are on Wrong Side of History

The history of health care in America has been one of steadily improving health and lifespans as access to quality health-care has increased, writes Nicholas Kristof. The 1940s saw the greatest recorded increase in American lifespans as military mobilization improved access, he notes. This trend is now reversing, however, because of politicians' "ignominious failure over the last half-century to provide universal health care," he notes in the New York Times.

This reversal will continue and the number Americans with access to first-rate medical care will keep dropping if the GOP manages to kill health reforms, he warns. Lawmakers should stop fighting over procedure and focus on Americans' access to medical care, he writes. "On that issue, those trying to kill this health care reform proposal are simply on the wrong side of history," Kristoff writes.
(More health care reform stories.)