Statement at the by John Horgan, member, IBEW Local 2222
and
Jobs with Justice Health Care Action Committee
Community meeting on “How to get health care that works for all Americans,” Boston University School of Public Health
March 22, 2006
We can no longer afford to fund a health care system that wastes 30 percent of every health care dollar on insurance company administrative fees.
Our current system leaves 46 million Americans uninsured and millions more under-insured. The current system creates incentives for health providers to skimp on preventive care and over prescribe for the most expensive procedures.
At every level there is an avalanche of paper work. Caregivers are buried in forms, and forced to waste their valuable time and resources on inefficient and unnecessary bureaucratic red tape. Because we have allowed the insurance industry to run the health care system, malpractice insurance bills threaten to put many doctors and providers out of business.
Cost cutting measures are leaving many hospitals understaffed, forcing caregivers to demand safe staffing legislation.
We all have an important stake in the direction our elected leaders take on health care reform. But the multiple-choice format used at the Citizen Working Group meetings have placed serious limitations on a true dialogue about health care reform. These hearings have created a bogus framework where participants are asked to consider what health care “trade offs” would be acceptable for the future.
In the richest nation in the world, we do not need “trade offs.” Instead we need to “trade up” to a national Medicare for All plan that covers every American. That is the only way to eliminate the high costs associated with the uninsured and the under-insured.
The taxpayer dollars currently being wasted in bureaucratic inefficiency can be redirected to cover everyone. A national Medicare for All plan would have the mass buying power to negotiate reasonable charges for prescription drugs and health care services. By covering everyone, we could eliminate the divisive means testing of the poor.
We all have a shared interest to make sure everyone receives high quality and comprehensive health care. After all, we are only as healthy as the people who ride with us on mass transit, handle our food in the cafeterias and restaurants where we eat, or clean the buildings where we work.
Medicare currently has administrative costs below 2 percent and it effectively insures every American age 65 and over. The Medicare model can be improved and expanded to cover everyone as proposed by Rep. John Conyers in HB 676 and as also proposed by Sen. Edward Kennedy.
This is the approach that Massachusetts Jobs with Justice supports because it has a proven track record. It can hold down costs, help U.S. business remain competitive, and keep people healthy and productive. Health care should be a right for everyone, not a privilege for the few!
Thank you.