Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Medicare for all—
To the editor:
In a recent e-mail, Congressman Thompson made the following bizarre statement, “As a health care professional for 28 years, I can attest that a single payer, government run health care system is the worst possible way to achieve our goals.”
Surely the Congressman must know that Medicare, which he endorses elsewhere in his email, is a “single payer, government run health care system.” It just so happens that it covers a group of citizens, namely seniors, that the for-profit insurance companies do not find profitable. And it is publicly funded but privately delivered.
Medicare does not deny coverage or claims, limit one’s choice of doctor or get between patients and their doctors, the predatory for-profit insurance companies do.
Politicians from Obama to Thompson, who all enjoy platinum standard medical coverage at taxpayer expense, have told us Medicare for all is politically infeasible or a bad idea – nonsense. It is long past time that the national medical insurance plan Teddy Roosevelt campaigned for in 1912 was enacted. There is a bill, HR 676, which would do just that.
What’s more, since our dysfunctional for-profit system costs us about 2.5 times the average of what developed nations pay without providing universal coverage, we should be able to cover everyone for what we are spending now without reducing quality of care if we just remove the profiteers from the system.
Please contact your legislators and tell them America needs Medicare for all.
John Kesich
Millerton
In a recent e-mail, Congressman Thompson made the following bizarre statement, “As a health care professional for 28 years, I can attest that a single payer, government run health care system is the worst possible way to achieve our goals.”
Surely the Congressman must know that Medicare, which he endorses elsewhere in his email, is a “single payer, government run health care system.” It just so happens that it covers a group of citizens, namely seniors, that the for-profit insurance companies do not find profitable. And it is publicly funded but privately delivered.
Medicare does not deny coverage or claims, limit one’s choice of doctor or get between patients and their doctors, the predatory for-profit insurance companies do.
Politicians from Obama to Thompson, who all enjoy platinum standard medical coverage at taxpayer expense, have told us Medicare for all is politically infeasible or a bad idea – nonsense. It is long past time that the national medical insurance plan Teddy Roosevelt campaigned for in 1912 was enacted. There is a bill, HR 676, which would do just that.
What’s more, since our dysfunctional for-profit system costs us about 2.5 times the average of what developed nations pay without providing universal coverage, we should be able to cover everyone for what we are spending now without reducing quality of care if we just remove the profiteers from the system.
Please contact your legislators and tell them America needs Medicare for all.
John Kesich
Millerton
| Feel like you're not getting the whole story? You probably aren't. The stories at tiogapublishing.com are previews. For the whole story, subscribe to the print edition or E-Edition of this paper today through the links on this site. |
 |
 |
|
| Frack for you and me— | On health care reform— |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of tiogapublishing.com.
Submit a Comment
We encourage your feedback and dialog, all comments will be reviewed by our Web staff before appearing on the Web site.
