Letter to the editor, Pacific Sun (San Rafael, Calif.)
Jan. 8, 2010
I couldn’t agree more with the sentiment expressed in the letter-to-the-editor by Geraldine Caldarola [“What’s It All About?” Jan. 1] as she lamented the blockage of real healthcare reform by “moneyed interests” and asked, “Do we need another revolution?” The answer is a resounding, “Yes!”
If we had real healthcare reform, a single-payer system such as Medicare for all, all Americans would have access to healthcare, we would be able to choose our own doctors, doctors would be able to practice the way they want and would be paid fairly on a fee-for-service basis.
We would save money. The insurance industry admits that they spend about 30 percent of premiums on something other than healthcare. It would also be good for the economy. American companies, no longer burdened with the high cost of providing healthcare for their employees, would be more competitive with those of other developed nations, and smaller businesses would be able to hire more workers, creating more jobs and generating more tax revenue. So, how do we make this happen?
First, consciousness raising. Every other developed nation provides healthcare for all its citizens for less than half per capita what we spend. We are the only country that allows its insurance industry to rule healthcare and rule its legislatorsāto the detriment of us all. Second, we need to elect legislators who are more interested in our well-being than in catering to lobbyists. Third, we need campaign finance reform to make this feasible.
If every other developed nation can do it, so can we.
Ann Troy, M.D.
San Anselmo