A little-known fact is that members of Congress have a health clinic staffed by doctors, nurses and technicians that is available to them 24/7. A pharmacy is also on the premises, and unlike those on Medicare, senators and congressmen do not have to contend with a drug coverage gap like the one in Medicare Part D known as the "doughnut hole." Their pharmacy is not prohibited from negotiating for lower drug prices; Medicare is.
Our Congress members and Supreme Court justices can get a physical exam, an X-ray or even an electrocardiogram without even leaving work.
Some in Congress constantly talk against coverage for us (the people) because it is too expensive. And yet they enjoy all of their health care privileges and instead focus on the financial health of the big pharmaceutical and health insurance companies.
Members of Congress already have their own "socialized medicine" but don't want their constituents to join them.
For those who despair of having government (socialized) medicine, I would remind you of the VA system for veterans, Medicaid for the poor, Medicare for seniors and the Federal Employee Health Benefit for our federal employees, including senators, representatives, Supreme Court justices and their dependents. All of them are a form of "socialized medicine."
How can we have affordable health care when insurance companies and their CEOs get hefty bonuses along with their huge salaries?
We can't.
Where would the money come from to fund public health insurance?
Here are some suggestions:
1. Rescind the Bush tax cuts for millionaires.
2. Stop funding the Iraqis. Their own oil, which was supposed to pay for this war, can rebuild their country. We need to rebuild the infrastructure of our own country.
3. Get all of the "contractors" out of Iraq. Why do we need them? That's what our military is for.
4. Negotiate prices of drugs with the pharmaceutical companies instead of paying them top dollar for their medicines.
5. Get the insurance companies out of the Medicare Part D drug program.
6. Eliminate the gap in the drug program benefits so we are not paying premiums for no benefits.
The multi-payer insurance companies have got to get out of the mix. A million American citizens have incurred personal bankruptcy due to unpaid medical bills.
A single-payer system means the government is paying for health care, not providing health care. You would no longer have an insurance company agent telling you that you cannot have a lifesaving procedure because it costs too much money and your policy doesn't cover it.
Our current fee-for-service payment system generates additional tests and procedures of things done to patients rather than things done for patients. This is especially the case when a doctor has his own equipment for X-rays, MRIs, CAT scans and laboratories. Physicians have to stop visualizing themselves as business centers because that is what has driven up the cost of health care.
Rita Hatch is a volunteer with the Older Persons Action Group.
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