By Matthew Downing
Chicago Tribune, Letters, March 2, 2020
We, over 75 future doctors and nurses at Rush University Medical Center, demand that U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin co-sponsor S.1129, the Medicare for All Act of 2019.
The health care system we are about to enter is no longer sustainable. Medical bills are the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the United States, despite three-quarters of those bankrupted having health insurance when they got sick. As costs continue to rise well above any industrialized nation in the world, our patients are rationing their insulin.
“Medicare for All” will save an estimated $450 billion a year on administrative costs. It is the only bill that guarantees health care as a human right by providing universal coverage and would save over 65,000 lives each year. Patients will be able see any doctor without copays, deductibles or premiums, and 95% of taxpayers will pay less for their health care.
It is our job to advocate for our patients. It is Sen. Durbin’s job to advocate for the people of Illinois. Americans should not lose their health care because they lost their jobs. Americans should not lose their health care because their insurance denied a specialist’s treatment. Americans should not lose their health care because their medications costs more than their rent. If the senator truly believes health care is a human right for all, then he must support S.1129.
Matthew Downing is the vice president of the Rush University chapter of Students for a National Health Program.
