The universal health-care systems, proposed by president elect Barack Obama, may be the last hope for many people living without medical insurance and in poverty. People who have very low incomes cannot afford the hundreds of dollars needed for health insurance, and so they live without any, hoping not to get sick.

Obama’s system would help these people and many believe that universal health-care is a step in the right direction for the US. On the other hand, many have criticized Obama’s plans for a universal health-care system, calling it of a socialist nature and that it would change the principles the country was founded on.

In El Paso 27.7% of the residents live in poverty and receive an income smaller than the national median household income. In El Paso the median household income is $32,111, while on a national scale the household income is $48,201. Obama’s plan would help these people and many others like them.

The plan proposed by Barack Obama would cost approximately $50 billion per year and it would imply lower costs for businesses by covering health care in exchange for lower premiums for employees, it will prevent insurers from overcharging doctors for malpractice insurance and require hospitals to collect and report health-care cost.

A universal health-care system would also provide for lower costs for drugs, as it will be easier for these to be imported from other developed countries, and for a great reform in the health-care system. All in all, the system works in theory and if it will be put in practice, the changes must come in a progressive manner, not abruptly.