Last Saturday, Congressman José Serrano came home from Washington, D.C. to deliver the keynote address at the Latinos for National Health Insurance Forum in the south Bronx. "Health care should not be viewed as a luxury but a basic human right," Serrano told his audience at Lincoln Hospital. "In New York City, more than one million of our neighbors are without medical coverage – 18 percent of whom live right in the Bronx."

He went on with more sobering data. According to Census data, one third of all Latinos in the United States and 20 percent of black and Asians don’t have medical coverage. It’s also estimated that 80 percent of undocumented immigrants don’t have health insurance, the congressman said.

The solution to this problem, Serrano said "is a health insurance system – publicly financed, privately delivered – available to everyone in this country."

Serrano said he’s found that system in the "U.S. National Health Insurance Act" (HR 676), which the Bronx politician is co-sponsoring. The Act, he said, "would cover every person in the U.S. for all necessary medical care."

The roadblock preventing this type of plan, Serrano said, is that "policymakers on the other side of the issue refuse to explore ways to expand coverage." He cited the Bush administration’s decision to reject New York’s application to allow more middle income families to participate in a statewide Children’s Health Insurance Program.

"We are on the right side of this issue, on the majority side, and so we must remain vigilant in our push for a better way to care for this nation," Serrano said.