Letter to the Editor
Acron Beacon (Ohio) Journal
Tuesday, Dec 22, 2009
Dear Santa: I know that I haven’t written in a while, but this is an emergency. Please, Santa, please bring us Medicare for all this Christmas. As an employee in a medical billing office, I can’t watch any more people declare bankruptcy because they had the audacity to get sick so their bills are too high.
We have a real crisis here. Four people in just my state are dying every single day because they can’t afford to go to the doctor. These people are parents, children, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, aunts, uncles, grandparents, friends, and, most important, they’re human beings.
Insurance and drug companies are killing us. They are causing our doctors who work so hard for their patients to provide millions of dollars worth of care for free every year. They are causing two-thirds of our bankruptcies, and they are denying us care that could save our lives. We need a system that places patients before profits; we need Medicare for all.
If you could find just a little extra time to squeeze Medicare for all into your sack of toys this year, you would be a real life saver. Who knows how many more Christmases people might get to spend with their loved ones if you can help us out this time?
I’ll be sure to leave extra cookies out, and plenty of carrots for Rudolph and the gang.
Drew Smith
Kent, OH