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Letter to the Editor Examples

Letters to the Editor by PNHP Members

April 26, 2006

To the Editor:

Lori Rackl’s story on uninsured cancer patients (“Uninsured Survivors Pay With Their Lives,” 4/26/06) is yet another powerful indictment of our broken healthcare system and a reminder of the need for a Single-Payer healthcare system in Illinois.

As a family physician who has worked in Chicago’s inner city for close to ten years, I have, unfortunately, seen many examples where patient’s health has deteriorated due to their inability to access healthcare. As a resident on the West Side of Chicago working on the inpatient ward, I took care of a beautiful African-American woman named Evelyn who had no health insurance, but a mounting health concern. One year prior, she had visited a primary care doctor to inquire why an ulcer on her breast would not heal. By the time she had decided to scale the financial barrier of seeing this doctor, the ulcerating sore, which was pathologically shown to be infiltrating ductal carcinoma, had long before migrated from her breast and seeded itself in the soft tissue or her abdomen and neck. Evelyn had metastatic breast cancer. She died five days later, before our hospital was even able to print her bill.

At Cook County Hospital, where I refer all of my uninsured patients, the wait to get a diagnostic colonoscopy can be as long as 18 months. Invasive carcinoma of the colon does not wait 18 months to progress and kill our patients. Long waits for cancer care persist at public hospitals because our profit-driven healthcare system leaves sick patients behind. A Single-Payer system, by contrast, would allow these patients to receive care elsewhere, thus saving lives!

A Single-Payer system would give everyone in this country all necessary healthcare coverage for his or her entire life. In a system like this we would take care of the patients that Lori Rackl wrote about, but most importantly, we would show them the dignity they deserve.

Sincerely,

Robert C. McKersie, MD
Family Physician
Author of In the Foothills of Medicine, A Young Doctor’s Journey from the Inner City of Chicago to the Mountains of Nepal.

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  • About PNHP
    • Mission Statement
    • Board and Staff
    • Speakers Bureau
    • Local Chapters
    • Students for a National Health Program
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
  • Kitchen Table Campaign
    • Maternal Mortality
    • Mental Health Care
    • Health Care Voters Guide
    • COVID-19 Endangers Health Workers
    • COVID-19 Exacerbates Racial Inequities
    • Public Health Emergencies
    • Rural Health Care
    • Racial Health Inequities
    • Surprise Billing
  • About Single Payer
    • What is Single Payer?
      • Policy Details
      • FAQs
      • History of Health Reform
      • Información en Español
    • How do we pay for it?
    • Physicians’ Proposal
      • Full Proposal
      • Supplemental Materials
      • Media Coverage
    • House Bill
    • Senate Bill
  • Stop REACH
    • ProtectMedicare.net
    • Sign our Petition
    • Organizational Sign-On Letter
    • About the REACH Model
    • About Direct Contracting
  • Take Action
    • Medical Society Resolutions
    • Recruit Colleagues
    • Schedule a Grand Rounds
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Lobby Visits
    • Organizing in Red Districts
  • Latest News
    • Sign up for e-alerts
    • Members in the news
    • Health Justice Monitor
    • Articles of Interest
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    • For the Press
  • Member Resources
    • 2022 Annual Meeting Materials
    • Newsletter
    • Slideshows
    • Materials & Handouts
    • Kitchen Table Campaign
    • COVID-19 Response
      • Why we Need Medicare for All
      • PNHP’s 8-point plan
      • New Study: Perils and Possibilities
      • Emergency COVID-19 Legislation
      • Kitchen Table Toolkit
      • Take Action on COVID-19
      • Telling your COVID-19 story
      • PNHP members in the news
    • Events Calendar
    • Webinars
    • Film Room
    • Join or Renew Your Membership
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