Reform would set health care right

As Congress considers a critical health-care reform bill, there is growing support among the people for a single-payer system. 

Single-payer is not socialized medicine as some would have us think, nor is it health care operated by the government. It consists of federal money being distributed to private doctors, instead of insurance companies paying private doctors. Therefore, all of the money collected goes to actual health care, not to television commercials, exorbitant CEO salaries or investors who expect a profitable return.

Doctors will have more time to heal patients because they will no longer have to deal with myriad insurance companies, each having its own set of rules.

They will only have to deal with one single payer — the federal government. There is nobody turned away because of pre-existing conditions, and none going bankrupt because he can’t afford to pay astronomical hospital bills. With single-payer, health care becomes a service, not a business. This is what it should be.

As I write this letter, insurance companies are spending huge sums of money to prevent health-care reform from putting them out of business. They will use scare tactics to make us believe there will be long waits for surgeries or that we will not be able to choose our doctors. They will even tell us that government shouldn’t come between a patient and doctor. We should ask ourselves who benefits most from our fear.

Passing this kind of legislation takes a great deal of courage. Many of our lawmakers from both parties have accepted huge sums of money from lobbyists representing insurance companies and are expected to show their appreciation for this “generosity.”

Private insurers have had decades to reform their practices, yet co-pays and premiums continue to increase and the number of Americans who cannot afford health care is climbing. It’s time for us — the people — to say, “Enough!” It’s time for us to consider a bold new plan and that plan is single-payer.

Gerry Kruger    
Albemarle County