[p]dear mr. president [/p] [p][/p] [p]i am a person of chinese race and i am a u.s. citizen having lived in victoria, canada for the last thirty five years. i would like to write to you regarding the subject of health care reforms in the united states. [/p] [p][/p] [p]first, in the declaration of independence of 1776 thomas jefferson said, “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” [/p] [p][/p] [p]among the unalienable rights, life is inseparable from health. without basic health there will be no life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. healthcare therefore is an unalienable right, and the most primary and fundamental one. in fact, healthcare is a universal human right and as such it cannot be owned or monopolized by any private enterprises seeking profits. rather, it must be a matter of public concern and must be operated by national efforts. therefore, violation of the rights to, “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” is a transgression against the constitution of the united states. [/p] [p][/p] [p]the amendments of the united states constitutions article 14, section 1, september 17, 1787 contains these words, “nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property…” for a health care insurance company to refuse to provide protection to people who already had pre-existing conditions is the same as to, “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property…” as the prophet habakkuk says, “and the just shall live by practicing his faith,” practicing of simple social justice. so depriving universal healthcare to any person is not only unconstitutional but also a violation of simple justice. [/p] [p][/p] [p]mr. president, you have been quoted as saying that the present healthcare system in america is employer based, and to change to a universal system with one single payer would be too disruptive. this can be true but it can be worked out. [/p] [p][/p] [p]for example, presently there are medicaid, medicare, and the veterans administration systems. if you extend the medicaid program to include the unemployed, lowering the age limit to include more older people, and using the va system to universalize the population, we would have achieved universal coverage. since all these programs are already funded by the public we would have automatically achieved the one single payer system. [/p] [p][/p] [p]the above could be done in a gradual process without disrupting those who prefer private insurance carriers. [/p] [p][/p] [p]president george washington led the country to become independent, and president abraham lincoln united the union, and you president obama will universalize the healthcare system making “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” a reality in history. [/p] [p][/p] [p]god speed. [/p] [p][/p] [p]yours most respectfully, [/p] [p][/p] [p]dr. w.c. tan [/p] [p][/p] [p][/p] [p][/p]