Soldier Killed After Re-Enlisting to Get Health Insurance

While people still continue to fight over whether or not health care should be provided for all, and the morality of allowing people to die because of lack of health insurance, here is the sad story of a soldier who re-enlisted to get insurance for his family, then later died in Afghanistan.

Army SPC Greg Missman lost his job as a computer consultant, and along with losing the job he lost health insurance for his family. Missman had ended his military service 11 years ago, but re-enlisted in order to be sure his family had health insurance coverage.

After only one month in Afghanistan, Jim Missman, Greg's father received the news that his son's convoy had been ambushed. Greg was killed in the attack. His father said he was told "I'm going to go back in the Army, and make sure Jack (his son Jack) has health insurance. That was really the motivating thing to have him go back in."

CNN reported that a "Pentagon spokesman said there is no way to count how many soldiers have joined the armed services to get health care benefits. As for Greg Missman, his son will continue to receive military health insurance so this soldier's sacrifice will live on."

It's curious that the world's richest nation is also the only industrialized nation to not provide some sort of universal health care. It's sad that Cuba has better infant mortality rates than us and the same lifespan, while Canada and the UK better us in both categories, according to UNICEF statistics current as of 2007. All have some sort of Universal Health Care.

Watch the video report: