(ARA) - When Dr. Nancy Nielsen was attending graduate school she learned firsthand what it was like to be uninsured. During that time, she had two children who were delivered through public health clinics because that was her only option. When her 14-month-old daughter had a fever of 106 degrees, she brought her to the emergency room and spent the next month's grocery money on medical care.

Dr. Nielsen went on to medical school and is now president-elect of the American Medical Association (AMA), working to get more Americans health insurance coverage. Her story is only one of many stories of the uninsured in America. According to the United States Census, one out of seven, or 47 million Americans, do not have health insurance.

"In the past, the perception has been that the uninsured live in the shadows -- the homeless, the downtrodden, the chronically unemployed. Today, many Americans need look no further than their own families or working neighbors to find someone without health insurance. Eighty percent of the uninsured are in working families," says Dr. Nielsen.

How does that affect you? Dr. Nielsen points out that:

* Employer-based health insurance isn't a guarantee, and your own family situation can change in a heartbeat. Already forty percent of employers don't
offer coverage for employees and their families.

* The uninsured live sicker and die younger. Many uninsured put off treating common ailments due to financial constraints and don't see a doctor until the condition evolves into something more serious. It could be a woman with no opportunity for early detection of breast cancer or a man who chooses to feed his family over seeing his doctor for chest pains.

* Even those with insurance coverage pay the price of not having all Americans covered. Whether it's crowded emergency rooms or escalating health care costs for all, the issue of the uninsured touches everyone. The United States spends nearly $100 billion annually to provide uninsured patients with health services, often for preventable diseases or diseases more efficiently and effectively treated with an earlier diagnoses.

"The increase in the number of uninsured Americans is a forceful reminder that action is desperately needed. One in seven Americans are uninsured. That's not just a statistic, it's a tragedy," says Dr. Nielsen. "Providing health care coverage for all Americans is no easy task, but we're committed to bringing patients and their physicians together to advocate for a solution -- and to get one."

Earlier this year, the AMA launched a three-year, multi-million dollar campaign called Voice for the Uninsured to spur legislative action to cover the uninsured in America. In the first phases of the campaign, the AMA is reaching out to voters and candidates to talk about the problem and encourage Americans to vote in 2008 with the issue of the uninsured in mind. The AMA also launched a new Web site, www.VoiceForTheUninsured.org, where people can learn more about the AMA's proposal to cover the uninsured, sign a petition, and share their personal stories.

"The fight to cover the uninsured is an issue that is deeply personal to me," Dr. Nielsen says. "Living without insurance affected me, and it affected my children. It touched my life, and it can just as easily touch yours. We want to give voice to the 47 million Americans without health insurance -- because it has become too heavy a burden on too many hard-working people."