Doctors Agree With Sanders on Universal Health Care

[pinebox]

Now what?
This is what many of us Bernie supporters have been saying. Death > raising your taxes.
Bernie's proposal for universal health care is the right thing to do. Morally & ethically.

This week, the American Journal of Public Health carried a proposal by a working group of more than 2,000 physicians nationwide titled: Moving Forward from the Affordable Care Act to a Single-Payer system. The physicans warn that the risks of continuing the ACA will leave millions uninsured indefinitely.

NAM health editor Viji Sundaram interviewed Dr. Adam Gaffney, a co-chair of the working group.

Viji Sundaram: Your proposal calls for a single-payer health care plan for the United States. Obamacare has helped 16.9 million people become newly insured. Would it not be less disruptive to expand the provisions in the ACA instead of repealing the law and replacing it?

Dr. Adam Gaffney: The U.S. health system is highly disruptive as things stand now. You’re liable to lose your insurance at any time—for instance, if you change your job or get divorced. Similarly, those purchasing plans on the “marketplaces” may find that they can keep down premium increases by changing plans on an annual basis. Every time your insurance plan changes, you may need to change all of your doctors and hospitals in order to stay “in network.” This is enormously disruptive to people’s health care. In contrast, in a single-payer system, everyone has free choice of doctors and hospitals.

VS: Your proposal promises health coverage for all. Does this include undocumented U.S. residents?

AG: Yes, it would. The single-payer national health program we envision would include everyone regardless of country of origin, including undocumented residents. If we believe that health care is truly a human right, then this is the right thing to do. At the same time, it is also financially achievable. Immigrants, on average, have lower health care spending as compared to those born in the United States. One study demonstrated that immigrants actually pay more into Medicare than what they use in terms of health care. Everyone would be included in the national health program we envision.

More..... http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/doctors-agree-sanders-universal-health-care

[Baobab]

1. Single Payer would save a LOT more money than Sanders is saying.

he is vastly underestimating its cost. the fact is, the government already pays 2/3 of all US health care costs. So we already pay enough for single payer now!

Another thing, it has to be free. Little known provisions of trade deals make it that way, similar issues exist for higher education and other services. Instead of single payer, many want to globalize services, throwing our own allegedly too high paid workers under the bus. They accuse them of protectionism. However, its the administrative waste and the high cost of fighting insurance companies in terms of book-keeping, as well as the fact that health care delivered at the beginning of a health problem, which currently fails to happen because of cost- is far cheaper- A stitch in time saves nine- Our current system seems designed instead to maximize the cost and waste along the way, and leave people in the lowest health possible. Thats a mistake.

It should be said also that numerous key facts on health care are being misrepresented in the media. For excample, Americans do not take more drugs than people in other countries do, nor do we utilize the doctor more, we utilize them less!

The problems here are all caused by the stupid way we deny sick people health care which could be modern and affordable with only minor changes. We don't need to ship Americans to the other side of the globe for 'affordable' care either. (a recent proposal)

Thanks Adam for your article!