By Kathleen Fagan, M.D., M.P.H.
TCPalm (Stuart, Fla.), Letters, January 8, 2020
This past month weāve watched members of Congress try (and fail) to solve the problem of surprise medical bills. Forty percent of privately insured patients get āsurpriseā medical bills after an emergency room visit or hospital admission. These are bills not covered by their insurance. The average surprise medical bill from an emergency room visit is $628, and $2,040 from a hospital admission. Many families cannot pay these bills without going into debt.
Surprise medical bills are one of many problems with our health care system. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has helped insure more people but not everyone, and does not solve the problem of surprise medical bills. The single payer “Medicare for All” plan would cover all Americans. Out-of-network, surprise medical bills would be eliminated, as every doctor and hospital would be paid directly through the program.
I have practiced medicine for over 40 years and have seen many patients fall through the cracks of our broken health care system. As a medical student, I believed that health care is a human right. I still believe that. I believe that we can create a health care system that is efficient, covers everyone, and does not financially cripple families. The single-payer Medicare for All plan is a way forward to achieve these goals. As we embark on this new decade, I want to see our political leaders work together to fix our broken health care system.