Robert Wood Johnson Foundation President Urges Discussion of Possible Solutions for the Uninsured

A recent Washington Post opinion piece by Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Henry Aaron "called much needed attention to the persistent challenge of expanding health coverage" to the uninsured, according to Dr. Steven Schroeder, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In a Post letter to the editor, Schroeder writes, "The fiscal and political obstacles to covering the uninsured are great, but the consequences of maintaining the status quo are even more troubling. People who are uninsured live sicker and die younger than those who have health insurance." Schroeder, a physician by training, concludes, "Elected officials' near silence about this problem is deeply disturbing. For far too long our leaders have remained complacent about the consequences of millions of our neighbors living without health insurance. ... I believe it is time for Americans of every walk of life and every point of view to join in the discussion about solutions. It is the right thing to do, medically and morally" (Schroeder, Washington Post, 12/1).