Political candidates may propose national health insurance and cause a flurry of debates but a grass roots effort in Shelby County could be one answer to the local health care dilemma regarding the uninsured, once more information and public input is gathered.

Members of the Shelby Free Health Clinic Task Force recently conducted a town hall meeting at the First Baptist Church in Alabaster on the subject of bringing a free health clinic to the area.

The center would begin operating one day per week, for four hours per day, with mostly volunteer staff and would seek to serve uninsured residents ages 19 to 64.

Other specifics would have to be ironed out, and that’s why the group is seeking public input.

According to information provided by the National Coalition on Health Care and attributed to the California Health Care Foundation in 2005, nearly 47 million Americans are uninsured while the United States spends more on health care than other industrialized nations, which provide health insurance to all their citizens.

With the problems of health care facing millions of Americans and continuous debate over national health care it is clear something is going to have to be done in the meantime.

Questions will have to be addressed such as where the funds to operate the clinic would come from because even with volunteers, there are would still be the cost of rent, medication and other supplies.

We encourage the public to get involved and offer possible solutions so the uninsured have a place to go for health care. And of course, one can also contact their state or national representatives.

This is too important of an issue to allow the debate to go on forever while millions suffer due to lack of health insurance