Dr. Margaret E. Kruk, assistant professor of health policy and management at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, makes a case for why universal health coverage is needed in rich and poor countries alike in a paper titled, “Universal Health Coverage: A Policy Whose Time Has Come,” just published in BMJ, calling it both the right thing and the smart thing to do. She cited a new report launched last month at the 68th United Nations general assembly by Save the Children, Rockefeller Foundation, UNICEF, and WHO that is adding to the global pressure for universal health coverage.  Universal health coverage is the ability of all people to obtain needed health care without incurring financial hardship.