Miami-Dade County's health care system is ailing but there is a roadmap that will put us on the way to better health. 

Community Voices Miami, in collaboration with health care consumers, health care providers, community-based organizations, advocates and business leaders, has developed the Miami Action Plan to improve health care access for all.  It's time we act.

Our current system is an incipient disaster that will cripple our community and exhaust our resources.   More than 450,000 of Miami-Dade's residents do not have health insurance--that's one out of every five people in our county.  Even worse, 120,000 of the uninsured are children--that's more than the entire population of Coral Springs.

There are too many people in our own neighborhoods caught in a perilous situation with few options out.  They are unjustly underserved because they earn too much to be covered under existing federal and state health insurance programs, or earn too little to afford their own coverage. 

The need to improve our current health care system is critical.  Lack of health insurance disproportionately affects minority populations.  In Miami-Dade, 30% of Hispanics, 25% of Blacks, and 39% of people of other ethnicities lack health insurance.  Diversity should strengthen our community, not weaken it. 

The Miami Action Plan spells out four goals, with tangible action steps to improve access.  Our hopes are that these recommendations will be adopted by the community and provide the framework for health policy and system progress.

MAP's primary goal is to ensure coverage for all.  Strategies include developing programs that will address the needs of low-income workers; expanding existing initiatives to insure more people and expand services; and finding means to increase access to prescription drugs and mental health, including substance abuse services. 

Secondly, barriers that restrict the uninsured and underserved from accessing health care services need to be eliminated.  Clinics that are inconveniently located; prohibitive coverage for preventative, mental and oral health services; and lack of programs that are sensitive to cultural, racial and gender differences are only some of the barriers that obstruct the delivery of quality health care services.

Thirdly, we will work to ensure that critical health training, education and outreach programs are established.  One way would be to use non-traditional approaches such as enlisting faith-based organizations, like Camillus House, to provide information about public health concerns and insurance programs instead of solely relying on health care professionals for health information.

Finally, a health care system that is efficient and cost effective.  This means using our health care dollars fairly and wisely as well as giving taxpayers value for their money.

Without doubt, 100% access to health care benefits us all.  Your local community leaders have collaborated and are paving the way to make this happen.  Over the next few months, the mayor will convene a Health Task Force to tackle these issues.

Let this be the defining moment for Miami-Dade's health care woes.  It is time to make our community the healthiest it can be.