My last submission in this space was titled, "USA Long Overdue for Universal Healthcare." In it, I discussed the fact that every other industrialized nation in the world has some version of UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE, and for good reason. It is because it is more cost effective for the country's economy and its citizens; it is a more moral system in that it shuns no one based on their inability to pay; it focuses on making/keeping people well instead of making huge profits for private health insurance companies; it does not cause citizens to go bankrupt with medical debt, and list goes on and on.
I also mentioned that even Mexico has now decided to establish universal healthcare for it's citizens beginning in January, 2027. Yes .... MEXICO. And judging from the 18,000+ online readers of my article, there are a lot of people that identify with my point. Let me say, there is no perfect healthcare system.... ours is currently ranked at 39th overall in the industrialized world. That is shameful. As the richest nation on earth, considering we pay more for our healthcare than any other nation and STILL don't cover all of our citizens tells you everything you need to know. While Canada, a nation with universal healthcare, is ranked in the top six countries in overall healthcare.
Americans (66%) say the federal government has a responsibility to make sure all Americans have health care coverage. So, clearly there is a demand for change. Thank goodness, we already have a version of this system. It is called "Medicare" and those 65 and older for whom it was designed, LOVE IT.
Medicare is NOT socialized medicine. Medicare is administered by the government but uses the private sector of providers for the delivery of medicine. Mr. John Dorsa rebutted my original letter saying he "vehemently opposes socialized medicine." If so, perhaps he needs to let the V.A. Medical Center know because that is exactly what it is. For better or for worse, the entire V.A. Medical Healthcare System is owned and run by the government for veterans who have special needs due to military service. But that is not what I was advocating for.
Public Medicare has significantly lower administrative expenses compared to private Medicare (i.e. Medicare Advantage Plans), with Medicare parts A, B, and D having administrative costs of only 1.35% of benefits, while private Medicare Part C has costs ranging from 10.86% to 14.84%. This difference highlights the efficiency of the public Medicare system in managing administrative costs. Public Medicare also has no built in "profit" as does private Medicare plans. And this says nothing about the "networks" associated with private Medicare. There is no "network" with public Medicare. As long as a provider takes Medicare, you can go anywhere in the country and still be covered.
I'm sorry for Mr. Dorsa's experiences but I would also suggest to him that he do his own research of information from a broad spectrum of resources before he swallows the demonized "socialized medicine" terminology that Republicans push on "Fox News." And if he does, I believe he just might become an avid proponent for Universal Healthcare for the United States.
Camille Wright is a Northsider.
