The former UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon called on Americans to pass universal health coverage at a speech in New York City on Tuesday, marking a dramatic intervention of world leaders into the
US healthcare debate.
Ban called on the US to stop "powerful interests" from prioritizing "profit over care" as part of a global delegation pushing the US to adopt a publicly financed health system similar to those in other wealthy countries.
The US spends more on healthcare than any nation in the world, yet 28 million Americans still lack care.
"In the US, all too often only rich people get access to expensive life-saving treatments," said Ban. "This is unjust and threatens everybody's health when working- and middle-class people with communicable diseases cannot afford treatment for their infections."
"Even routine preventive care is often prohibitively expensive," said Ban. "As America is demonstrating, you simply cannot reach universal health coverage if your health system is dominated by private financing and ultimately functions to prioritize profit over care."
Enacting universal health coverage would be a revolution in US healthcare. Currently, the US relies on a complex network of for-profit health insurers, government subsidies and limited public insurance programs to provide healthcare access to Americans.
Of the
25 richest countries in the world, the United States is the only one without universal health coverage. The political prospects of passing such a law remain remote with conservatives in power, yet calls for universal healthcare in the United States have grown louder since President Trump's election as Republicans try to dismantle healthcare regulations.
