Many heart disease risk factors such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure could be treated early on, thus preventing various future types of heart disease from developing -- if only uninsured Americans had access to health care. Democratic Mass. Senator John Kerry proposed recently that by 2012, all Americans be required to have health insurance -- and that anyone who can't get themselves covered be aided by the government to make sure that they are.

An estimated 46 million Americans have no health insurance. For many low-income Americans, that means no access to health care due to the high cost. A potential 2008 presidential candidate, Kerry plans to give Americans access to the same quality of care available to members of Congress, lower employer costs and cover every child in this country. Where will the funds to provide national health care come from, you ask? There will be more than enough, Kerry proposes, by repealing President Bush's tax cuts for people earning more than $200,000 a year.