The answer is not complicated.

The American healthcare system is broken, dysfunctional and cruel.

Despite spending over $15,000 for every man, woman and child — double what most nations spend — 85 million Americans are uninsured or underinsured and some 60,000 die unnecessarily each year because they can’t afford to get to a doctor when they should.

In America today some 500,000 households go bankrupt because of medically-related bills, including tens of thousands of patients struggling with cancer.

As a nation we pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs, and one out of four patients cannot afford to fill the prescriptions their doctors write.

While we spend at least three times more than other countries on administration, bureaucracy and insurance company profits, we have a massive and growing shortage of doctors, nurses, dentists, mental health counselors and pharmacists.

As broken as our overall healthcare system is, our primary care system is in even worse condition. Tens of millions live in medically underserved areas and even those with decent insurance are unable to find a family physician. In rural America people often travel for hours to get the specialty care they need or wait for months to get an appointment.

So, what do we do to address this national crisis? How do we end the embarrassment of being the only major country not to guarantee healthcare to all as a human right?

The answer is not complicated. We must stand up, fight back and support candidates willing to take on the greed of the insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industry. We must elect candidates who are determined to pass Medicare for All legislation.