Private insurers cause health care heartbreak
As a dedicated activist for single-payer health care, it has become crystal clear to me that the private, for-profit health insurance companies are the biggest detriment to having a health care system in the United States that is comparable to the rest of the developed nations of the world.
I have been exposed to thousands of heartbreaking stories and situations over the last two years; all unnecessary had we had a universal health care system without Wall Street-obligated private insurers.
Bruce Barry, a professor of management and sociology at Vanderbilt University, said it best: “Health insurance in a civilized society is a collective moral obligation, not a discretionary consumer good. It’s somewhat analogous to national defense: We strive to safeguard everyone from the unpredictable consequences of an unforeseen tragedy, not just those who can find room in their household budgets to pony up for defense spending.”
The private, for-profit insurance companies are evil, cruel and socially destructive. They are a parasitic middleman when they take your insurance dollar and suck out as much as they can (up to 31 percent) for administrative expenses. I have asked hundreds of people to give me one positive benefit that the private health insurers create for the individual health care consumer. So far, no one has been able give me an answer.
Medicare celebrates its 45th birthday July 30. This popular, publicly funded, privately managed single-payer system is the answer to let all our citizens exit the misery of our current health care system.
Bill Mahan
Lexington