Single-payer plan needed

In reading Christian Schneider’s praise of the new Republican health care bill passed last week in the House, I am reminded once again of the irony of having publicly traded insurance companies be in charge, to a large degree, of who and what is covered (“Health care bill is the right kind of progress,” Crossroads, May 7).

His assertion that insurance companies should be allowed to charge more for high risk individuals with pre-existing conditions is correct if you believe the right to make a hefty profit is more important than keeping Americans healthy.

The first and foremost duty of publicly traded companies is to make a profit for their stock holders. If that public company happens to be in the business of selling health insurance, the best way to make money is to keep sick people off the policies and not pay claims. United Healthcare, Aetna, Humana and Anthem are all very large publicly traded companies. I have always been a bit surprised more press hasn’t been given to this obvious conflict of interest.

With so much money being donated to both Republicans and Democrats by the insurance industry it is unlikely that we will go to a singlepayer system like Canada, Australia and most of Europe any time soon. Ultimately, as Bernie Sanders proposed, this is the only real solution to the problem.

Peter Flannery Brookfield