By Bob Krasen
The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, Letters, May 10, 2020
“‘Stranded’ without care,” the New York Times article in last Sunday’s Dispatch, is a painful story. Hospital closings are an abomination that shouldn’t happen. And worse, it involved the third hospital to close in the same area within months. Not only do hospitals provide urgent care, they are often the largest employers.
It’s a reason we need Medicare for All.
Rural hospitals close because people there are poor. People with Medicaid or Medicare are fortunate, but many have neither. What would happen if every person who came or was brought in for treatment was a “paying customer?” The hospital and medical staff would receive fair compensation so health care services could be maintained at a high level. Medicare for All.
What if any person could go to any hospital, even by helicopter, without a surprise bill or being told, “Sorry, you’re out of network”? Medicare for All.
What would doctors do if they did not have to spend 20% of their time on the phone with health insurers, trying to get pre-authorization to treat conditions? They would go on to help you with the best medical practice. Medicare for All.
COVID-19 has revealed how broken our medical payment system is. People have lost their health insurance along with their jobs. Health insurers already are talking about increasing premiums by 40% next year. Those who say, “The government can’t do anything right” don’t notice that the Medicare tax rate was last increased in 1986 while providing necessary care to seniors for 34 years. Medicare for All.
If you say “Medicare for All is a good idea, but we can’t afford it,” we cannot afford what we are currently spending, not only in money, but in employment and lives lost.
If you believe that hospitals and doctors should be fairly compensated for every patient, and every person should have easy access to necessary medical care, then support Medicare for All.
Bob Krasen is the Columbus area coordinator for the Single Payer Action Network-Ohio.