Single-payer
Best health insurance
Editorial
Charleston Gazette
May 1, 2009
President Obama wants to create universal health insurance covering all Americans, a safety net of the sort that already exists in other advanced democracies. President Harry Truman first sought this reform in the 1940s, and other Democrats have pursued it intermittently, but each attempt has been scuttled by big-money interests that enjoy the current for-profit medical system.
Best health insurance
President Obama wants to create universal health insurance covering all Americans, a safety net of the sort that already exists in other advanced democracies. President Harry Truman first sought this reform in the 1940s, and other Democrats have pursued it intermittently, but each attempt has been scuttled by big-money interests that enjoy the current for-profit medical system.
It’s disgraceful that U.S. medical care is the world’s most expensive, yet 45 million Americans are left without insurance and the nation’s health levels are inferior to those elsewhere. High overhead costs among hundreds of competing U.S. insurance firms wastes billions - money that could pay to cover the left-out families, if it weren’t squandered. The for-profit corporations employ high-paid “subrogation” specialists who try to duck payment of medical bills, shifting them to other insurers or leaving them unpaid.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., is fighting for universal coverage. Earlier this month, he came to Charleston to receive a “Champion of Health Care Reform” award from a labor and activist coalition.
“This seems like the year when we can get it all done,” he told the group. He pointed out that “I have never seen many Republicans for health- care reform,” but the new Democratic control of Congress opens a window of opportunity. “We are on a sacred journey to remake America.”
Half of all West Virginia bankruptcies stem from uncovered medical bills, Rockefeller said, and the state’s economy loses $8 billion a year from lost work productivity caused by inadequate care. But commercial insurers don’t care, as long as they can manipulate rates to keep profits high.
“Insurance companies are making you pay more, and they pay less, so they can make more money,” the senator said.
On Capitol Hill in Washington, battle lines are drawn between Democrats who want government-run national health coverage and Republicans trying to protect the profits of private insurance corporations. Negotiators hope to draft a plan that would accommodate commercial insurers, but the firms say they can’t compete against low premiums that could be attained through savings in a governmental system. They fear that federal coverage would put them out of business.
Well, good riddance. Universal, government-run, “single payer” national health insurance is the most frugal and sensible method. The immense size of a governmental system can force price reductions and eliminate the paperwork costs of competing private insurers.
Almost half of Americans already fall under tax-paid systems: Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, veterans treatment, public employees coverage, etc. Why not consolidate and expand this principle to serve the whole society?
AARP protested that Americans pay more for medical care than for food. This extreme expense puts a severe burden on employers, who must insure workers. In nations with universal coverage, businesses aren’t singled out for this cost, thus they have an advantage over U.S. firms in the global marketplace.
President Obama says horrendous costs of the current medical system damage this country. It’s long past time for America to join the rest of the world in attaining universal insurance.