Letter to the Editor
Billings Gazette
June 21, 2009
The for-profit health insurance industry is the major culprit standing in the way of the American people obtaining for themselves their right to adequate universal health care. This industry employs thousands of people whose task it is to find reasons not to insure people (pre-existing conditions) in the first place, then to find ways not to pay claims of those already insured. Further, thousands of employees in hospitals and doctors’ offices spend hours on the telephone attempting to file legitimate claims.
Acting in this way makes parasites out of these employees who spend their time non-productively protecting the profits of these companies instead of facilitating the flow of goods and service from medical providers to their legitimate patients.
Single-payer will eliminate this non-productive industry with a streamlined, publicly financed system. By doing so it will save an estimated $400 billion annually in administrative costs, enough money to guarantee everyone quality, comprehensive care and to eliminate all co-pays and deductibles, with no net increase in our nation’s health spending.
It is time for the American people to be aware of this stark reality and rise up against the common enemy of health care reform.
Edwin L. Stickney, M.D.
Billings
[Note from PNHP: Dr. Stickney is past president of the Montana Medical Association.]