2007 is well underway, and we are already seeing some change here in the U.S. Maybe not big changes, per se, but still some improvements from last year.

Case in point: Trans Fats. Toward the tail end of 2006, many fast food and snack food companies agreed to prepare their food with safer and healthier vegetable-based oils, thereby eliminating trans fats. Now into 2007, it seems as this change is fully coming to fruition, with McDonald's, Wendy's and even Frito Lay offering trans fat-free versions of their staple foods.

This is just one example of change. Spend about a minute thinking about other ways in which the U.S. has already changed in 2007, and you'll find it much easier a task than you might expect.

But, one very unfortunate thing that has not changed in 2007 -- and does not show signs of changing in the near future -- are the problems of the U.S. health care system.

Still the only major industrialized nation in the world without universal health insurance, the U.S. also continues to have a huge coverage gap -- with the number of uninsured people increasing from 40 million in 2000 to 47 million in 2005. As for 2007, that figure is even higher.

According to the Institute of Medicine, an estimated 18,000 lives are lost annually due to gaps in coverage. And while some states have implemented strategies and initiatives to help make coverage affordable by creating subsidized programs and creating an insurance pool for small businesses and the self-employed, most of these initiatives are not taking place in the states that have the greatest need. As a result, the coverage gap remains.

So, as 2007 continues on, the U.S. health care system will be one of the few things that will go unchanged. Fragmented, uncoordinated and unevenly distributed; the health care system is plagued by high administrative costs and missed opportunities to control chronic and life threatening conditions.