Patient Union Would Provide Advocacy, Support, Op-Ed States

U.S. residents must "take control" of their health care through the formation of a patient union -- a "combination civil rights, legal affairs and personal advocacy support system" that would "give all our singular whimpers a mighty bellow," Robert Lipsyte, a member of the USA Today board of contributors, writes in an opinion piece. Physicians, nurses, medical technicians, hospitals, health insurers and pharmaceutical companies "all have their organizations and lobbyists," but the "largest constituency with the most at stake -- patients with our lives and savings -- shuffle on alone, scared, ill-informed, often naked," Lipsyte writes.