Health care should be about people, not profits!

There is a common misconception that government-subsidized health care means that recipients will not have quality, efficient and timely medical care. I have been in the nursing profession since the 1980s and have yet to see a patient who had to wait for months to receive needed medical treatment because he had Medicare, Medicaid or veterans’ benefits.

The biggest problem is the cost of health care and health insurance, which has risen so dramatically that both are now unaffordable to the average American.

Many who do not qualify for government-subsidized health plans also are considered uninsurable by private companies. Private insurers often deny coverage to those with pre-existing conditions or illnesses. For those unlucky individuals, there are no options available for coverage. In addition, having private insurance does not always guarantee that a person receives affordable, adequate or timely care. Private insurers are profit-driven, and patients are sometimes forced to fight a bureaucratic nightmare to get coverage.

Many employers can no longer afford to subsidize health insurance benefits for their employees. It’s unrealistic to think that local charities and community clinics can bear the burden of caring for the increasing number of citizens who no longer have health care benefits.

The notion that America’s health care system is going to be socialized based on Canada’s model is a myth promoted by those with a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. However, having a national health insurance plan with affordable premiums for uninsured and uninsurable Americans is necessary to meet the needs of those who have no other choice available to them.

It is critical that Americans work to solve the very real health care crisis in our country, and quit buying into the fear tactics and propaganda promoted by those profiting from the current system.

MARY C

The above letter to the editor appeared in today’s Wichita Eagle, and was written by a blogging friend of many who blog here.  I thought everyone should read it!

fnord