Reforming the healthcare system

If you’ve visited a dentist, doctor, stayed in the hospital or purchased a hearing aid recently you may have been shocked at the cost. If so, you might agree that now is the time for political leaders to take a closer look at the Single-Payer Health Care plan championed by Senator Sanders. Below are some of the main points to be considered:

1. Under our current health care system the cost is paid for by employers, individuals, charities, and/or federal, state or local government.

2. Under the proposed Single-Payer system the federal government would create a new health-care plan to replace all of today’s ways of paying for health care...

3. In addition to the traditional medical expenses covered by Medicare, the proposed plan would also cover vision, dental and hearing expenses.

4. There would be no premiums, no deductibles and no co-payments.

5. Everyone would be covered including those with pre-existing conditions.

6. Federal taxes would of course go up, but the costs we now pay for health-care would go away.

7. Last year (2017) the amount spent by everyone for health-care in the US was $5.3 trillion; in 2026 the total 10year cost for the current system would be $45 trillion.

8. Under the proposed single-payer plan the total 10 year cost would be reduced to $32.6 trillion.

9. The savings would come from things like eliminating $1.6 trillion in administrative cost paid to insurance companies, negotiating lower drug costs to save $846 billion, and saving $5.3 trillion by paying for all health care at the Medicare rate.

10. Under the current health-care system the projected cost over the next five years would average $5.1 trillion per year. Under the proposed Singlepayer plan the cost is projected to average $4.96 trillion per year with better benefits and all Americans would be covered.

I urge you to contact your elected representatives and ask them to take a serious look at Single-Payer Health Care. Although President Trump refers to Senator Sanders as “Crazy Bernie” the concept of providing better medical care for all Americans at less cost than we now pay is not that crazy.

— Joe Tighue, Hamilton Democrat How to have your say: Letters and guest columns will be considered for publication. Please include name and daytime phone number, plus any affiliations that would place your opinion in context. All correspondence is subject to editing.