I feel that the time has come that we as a nation must make a dedicated commitment to making affordable health insurance coverage available to all Americans. And, that Universal coverage should mean access to health-care for everyone, period!
It should be a national goal for all Americans
to be covered by an adequate health insurance plan, considering that presently 46 million Americans lack health insurance and 16 million more have inadequate insurance to meet their health needs. The lack of health insurance causes roughly 18,000 unnecessary deaths every year in the United States, according to the Institute of Medicine.
This lack of adequate insurance also prevents many patients from obtaining the care they need in a timely fashion, from getting the tests required for diagnosing numerous illnesses, including cancer, and from taking their physician-prescribed medications for treating chronic illnesses such as diabetes and asthma and from obtaining preventive care.
Universal coverage means there are no fillet-mignon plans for the wealthy and chopped liver plans for everyone else, with high deductibles, limited services, caps on payments for care, and no protection in the event of a catastrophe.
I believe, there should be one level of comprehensive care no matter what the size of your wallet or bank account. Even if you are unemployed or lose or change your job you should still have health coverage.
The goal of Universal coverage should be to remove the financial roadblocks currently encountered by many, myself included. A single payer system would encourage preventive care that lowers an individual’s ultimate costs, the pain and suffering when problems are neglected, and societal costs in the over utilization of emergency rooms or the spread of communicable diseases.
Since everyone would have the same coverage - unlike most private plans which restrict what doctors, caregivers, or hospitals are utilized - you could use the doctors of your choice.
Under a single payer system, patients would have a clear choice and all medical providers would be assured the same fair reimbursement. The present wasteful paperwork and bureaucracy severely compromises physicians’ ability to practice medicine.
It's incredible that our rich nation spends twice the amount per capita on health care as other industrialized nations which provide comprehensive coverage to all their citizens, yet we have the second worst newborn mortality rate in the developed world.
In our system nearly one-third (31 percent) of health spending is consumed by unnecessary, wasteful administrative bureaucracy - such as denying patient care, advertising budgets and outrageous profits - compared to about 3% under Medicare.
The tremendous cost savings under a single payer system would produce the necessary savings needed to cover everyone, largely by using existing resources without the waste.
Taiwan, shifting from a U.S. Health-care model, adopted a single-payer system in 1995, boosting health coverage from 57% to 97% of it's citizens with little, if any increase in overall health care spending.
Fair reimbursements applied equally to all providers would be set by a public system, while assuring all comprehensive and appropriate health care is delivered. It could also use its clout to negotiate volume discounts for prescription drugs and medical equipment.
The public would set the policies and administer the system, not high priced CEOs meeting in secret and making decisions based on what inflates their own golden parachutes, compensation packages, stock wealth or their company's outlandish bottom lines.
I think it's clear that a Universal plan cannot suceed in a system dominated by private, greedy, profit-motivated insurance companies. A single payer plan would put an end to the insurance industry's undue influence on national health policy and stop their lobbyists interference with patient care.
Caregivers and patients would regain the autonomy to make decisions on what’s best for a patient’s health, not what’s dictated by the billing department or some bean counter.
Denials of coverage due to pre-existing conditions or cancellation of policies for “unreported” minor health problems would be a thing of the past.
A Harvard Business School study has shown that illness and medical bills contribute to 50 percent of all U.S. bankruptcies, affecting more than 2 million Americans annually. Most Americans with coverage have skimpy insurance policies that are inadequate to protect against financial ruin: 75 percent of those bankrupted by medical bills were insured at the onset of their bankrupting illness.
Who would have guessed forty-two years ago, on July 30, 1965, when Congress passed the first Medicare bill -- despite numerous warnings about the ‘dangers of socialized medicine and opposition by the AMA -- that Medicare would become one of the most popular and successful Federal programs ensuring access to health-care and dignity for this country’s senior citizens?
I strongly support Universal access to comprehensive, affordable, high-quality health care through a single-payer financing mechanism for everyone in New York and ultimately, the nation.
I ask that you speak out and tell your legislators that this is the time for Universal access to health coverage - it's a right that all Americans deserve, despite their financial wherewithal or social standing.
