Upon reading about Lisa Adams’ bankruptcy (2/3, A-1, “Medical bankruptcies: Double dose of trouble”), we were reminded again of the grim prognosis of the current U.S. health-care system.
More than 45 million Americans are uninsured, yet Americans continue to spend more per capita on health care than most of our world community. Despite these exorbitant expenditures, the United States performs poorly on leading World Health Organization health indicators (37th among the developed world). We propose that a single-payer national health-care plan is a solution to this crisis.
A national health-care plan would ensure quality coverage for all, would redirect excessive administrative costs into directly serving patient needs, and would establish health care as a basic human right.
Real solutions to medical bankruptcies and rising health-care costs are within our reach. Let’s start by supporting bipartisan proposals of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger to provide health care to low-income, uninsured Kansans.
Blair Thedinger, Abby Snavely and Lindsay Rome: KU Medical Center Students for a National Health Program
Jonathan Jacobs, Andrea Charbonneau, Kathryn Ellerbeck, Allen Greiner, Stephen Lauer, Joshua Freeman and Dan Swagerty: Mid-America Physicians for a National Health Program ( www.pnhp.org)
