HOLD, DO NOT PUBLISH--Alan editing......

For years the divide between private and public hospitals has created a situation where those who can afford the best medical care in the quickest time go to private hospitals, while those with no health insurance rely on crowded public hospitals. However, with almost 10 percent of Americans still unemployed and 50 million with absolutely no health insurance, the Obama administration now considers health care the issue of utmost importance.

A great example of the current health care debate is the USC Medical Hospital and the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.  Just minutes from each other in Downtown Los Angeles, the USC Medical Hospital is private, while the Medical Center is public. The USC Medical Hospital is world-renowned and has surgeons performing life-saving operations only they can do. With no emergency unit in the hospital and the inability to perform procedures without adequate insurance at the USC Medical Hospital, the majority of people who need health care they cannot afford end up in the Los Angeles County Medical Center.

Kevin Brown, a nurse at the USC Medical Hospital said, "This is a great hospital with the best care possible, and I believe that everyone deserves this kind of care. There are plenty of people without insurance who need these same surgeries to stay alive, and unfortunately some of them easily fall through the cracks of the current health care system." Even busy private hospitals like this one do not see nearly as many patients as the public hospitals where patients sometimes have to wait 24 hours in the waiting room of the ER.

Anthony Bernardo, a man pacing outside the ER of the county hospital, knew what needing urgent care but having no choice but to wait was life, "My wife has kidney failure, and every time we come in all they can do is put her in a bed with meds for a night and tell us to keep waiting on a donor list," Mr. Bernardo said. "Well, that list might as well be a hundred years long."

Even though no press is allowed inside the Los Angeles County Memorial Center, the looks on the faces of those in the crowded waiting room as nurses rushed on by made it clear that many felt as hopeless as Mr. Bernardo. With no insurance the total cost of a kidney transplant can reach 200,000 dollars, and as Mr. Bernardo pointed out, if one cannot pay for insurance, how can they be expected to pay close to a quarter of a million dollars?

The debate over the health care problem and the best way to solve it is extremely extensive. However, it looks like the time has finally come for the future of American health care to change in a way that supports more Americans.