By Richard A. Lippin, M.D.
The Philadelphia Inquirer, Letters, Nov. 23, 2015
Thanks to Don Sapatkin for writing about soaring and complex medical bills (“The anatomy of a medical bill,” Nov. 15). His conclusion, however, that “with no easy solutions in sight, the best consumers can do is learn – and fight,” falls short.
Consumers can also support a single-payer health-care system. State Rep. Pamela A. DeLissio (D., Phila.) introduced a single-payer bill in Harrisburg on Nov. 9.
While a single-payer system would not solve all our problems, it would bring the United States closer to other Western countries in terms of per capita costs by cutting out the middle man – insurance companies – and simplifying the process.
There’s no perfect system, but single-payer is better than consumers learning about and fighting our broken system. And when we are suffering, there is often little energy remaining to “learn and fight.”
Dr. Richard A. Lippin resides in Southampton.
http://articles.philly.com/2015-11-24/news/68513555_1_single-payer-friends-hospital-paris-attacks