Robert L. Ferrer

In the following viewpoint, Robert L. Ferrer argues that America’s lack of a national health care system has created an institutionalized system of exclusion for those too poor to afford medical insurance. The author maintains that as this “system of no-system” becomes more firmly entrenched, the few resources locally available to poor patients will become even more fragmented and difficult to access. A universal health care system, he contends, is the only way to provide for the 39 million uninsured Americans suffering without proper health care. Robert L. Ferrer is a physician at a county hospital in San Antonio, Texas.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to Ferrer, why do patients in his clinic rarely complain about long waits?
2. In the author...