The following statement by Dr. Quentin Young is in response to news reports on May 11 that the health care industry is promising the Obama administration that it will voluntarily reduce its rate of cost increases over the next 10 years.

The Obama administration is in peril of committing a colossal blunder. Powerful organizations, representing the major health industry groups, sent a letter to the president and subsequently met with him, pledging to reduce health cost inflation in the coming years.

The signers include America’s Health Insurance Plans, the Advanced Medical Technology Association, the American Hospital Association and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

Yes, health care costs are soaring and we urgently need reform. But these Johnny-come-lately rescuers are literally the cause of the crisis. Accepting their pledge of remedy is naïve and dangerous.

These corporate giants are legally bound to maximize return to their investors, which they do very well. They are the cause of the disarray in health care: double-digit inflation, 50 million uninsured and widespread medical bankruptcies.

How can any concerned administration rely on these culprits?

There is, of course, a different, proven remedy: single-payer national health insurance, an improved Medicare for all. Single payer slashes administrative costs, allowing us to provide universal, quality care for no more than we spend now. It also controls costs.

Can we hope President Obama will renew his earlier support for single payer and not accept the fool’s gold now proffered by the very malefactors who created the current crisis?

Quentin D. Young, M.D., M.A.C.P.
National Coordinator, Physicians for a National Health Program