Single-payer systems work

I AGREE WITH every word of Kendel Dreyer’s letter (“Singlepayer health care system works,” April 18). My father was from Canada. My cousin died of cancer at age 60. His wife told me he could not have had better treatment. At one point there were five family members in nursing homes. The government will pay for a certain level of nursing home care. If you want a better level you can pay the additional money and get it. They all had money so they upgraded. The reason drugs are cheaper in Canada and Mexico is because they have national health (care) and they bargain with the drug companies. Due to the big pharmaceutical lobbies Medicare is actually prohibited from bargaining with the drug companies.

My sister lives in London. She has been there since 1972. She was covered by National Health (Services) since the day she arrived. She has dual citizenship and says the Brits are tired of the Americans bashing their health care system. At age 58 she had the worst headache she ever had. She went to the doctor’s and was immediately placed in the hospital. She was having a TIA. She has had knee surgery twice, all free.

If you don’t like National Health they have doctors that don’t accept it. My cousin and her husband were flying into London when he had a heart attack. He was in the hospital for a week while they stabilized him. There was no charge.

At age 75 I know I will never see national health in my lifetime, but now I can look forward to Paul Ryan dismantling Medicare and replacing it with a voucher system because Medicare is a form of socialized medicine.

CAMILLE MORRISON Los Alamos