Essay: "Untruths About the Single Payer Bugaboo"

Essay: Untruths and Outright Deceptions About the Single Payer Bugaboo"

I have always supported a Single Payer health care system for USA-ll. After receiving a letter by the political organization Public Citizen with information on "Myths and Lies about Single Payer..." I am more convinced than ever that we ought to scrap the current HMO and for-profit health insurance system and immediately transition to a Canadian-style Single Payer system. According to the letter from Public Citizen, "Single Payer" is not so-called "Socialized Medicine" although every Republican claims otherwise to deceive the populous. If we changed to a Single Payer system we would all get a card which would entitle any U.S. citizen to go to any private physician or hospital of our choice. By the way, doctors would not become employed by the government, though the G.O.P. claim otherwise.

Also according to the letter I received this week, "Single Payer" will not lead to so-called "rationing" at least when compared to the highly flawed system we currently have. As you probably know, the for-profit system we unfortunately have absolutely "rations care" in that in many cases without insurance or adequate insurance you either are not allowed to get health care or you are financially responsible to an exorbitant extent; up to and including bankruptcy. According to the letter, more than one hundred American citizens perish every day due to lack of insurance under our ruthless for-profit system. Reprehensible as our for-profit system is, at least 36,500 people die annually due to lack of insurance. In addition, a lot of the time care is denied to the sick or dying so the American insurance companies can maximize profits. Guess how many people die in our neighbor to the north (Canada) due to lack of health insurance. The answer is "zero".

According to the letter from Public Citizen, if the for-profit "health insurance industry" was deep-sixed, there would be hundreds of "billions" of dollars saved annually in business "costs" and "profits". Instead of going to greedy insurance executives and unnecessary 'gecko, caveman or Mr. Mayhem' advertisements and maximizing profits instead of helping the sick, all that money could be utilized to keep us healthy, catch potential health problems sooner with preventive care, and perhaps lengthen lifespans.

According to the letter from Public Citizen, prescription drugs and research would cost less than they do now under a Single Payer system. If done correctly, a Single Payer system should cover more care for most U.S. Citizens. The letter says there would be "no more bills, deductibles, or co-pays." Of course, taxes would go up somewhat, but it would not likely be more than the typical person currently pays in insurance, if covered.

Although those in the for-profit health insurance industry may lose, any industry that is indifferent to the pain, suffering or demise of the sick ought to be done away with. In fact, such a system should have met its demise a long time ago. (tbc?) For more information, go to www.citizen.org. By the way, I am not a member of Public Citizen.