By Bill Lambdin
NewsChannel 13, wynt.com (Albany, N.Y.), July 31, 2013
ALBANY, N.Y. ā Just today third year medical student Janice Lee told the crowd, she observed a case where doctors were debating not what care would work, but what treatment the uninsured patient could receive.
“We were talking about whether or not he should receive an operation because he would not be able to obtain the necessary post operative care and also the rehabilitation that he needs,” said Lee. “I feel like this is a real shame.”
Advocates argue treatment would be much more often based on medical need, not the quality of insurance available, if the Medicare system that now covers most medical expenses for people 65 and over was extended to everyone.
“It’s a right and we need to fight for it and we need to say that we’re paying for it already, we’re just doing it in ways that are unfair and that create pain and suffering in our families and it has to stop,” Albany City Treasurer and candidate for mayor Kathy Sheehan said.
In all the debate that continues to rage over implementing or repealing Obamacare, whether it will save money or drive up costs, only a few individuals like the demonstrators are looking beyond the current politically influenced dispute to argue for something more extensive, single-payer health coverage, Medicare for all.
http://wnyt.com/article/stories/S3115548.shtml?cat=300