Rapid Response: LTE to NYTimes

Today’s Action: Sending a Letter to the Editor

Yesterday, the NYTimes published an article on the recent Urban Institute’s analysis of Bernie Sanders’s healthcare plan. In addition to the fact that they accepted the analysis uncritically, they managed to make claims that not even the study itself made:

Making big cuts all at once to doctors and hospitals could cause substantial disruptions in care. Some hospitals would go out of business. Some doctors would default on their mortgages and student loans.

Sanger-Katz asserts that a single-payer system would cost more in the U.S. than other countries primarily because we reimburse physicians more generously. Unfortunately, neither the Urban Institute’s study nor her analysis take into account that doctors are paid better here partly because of administrative overhead, nor does the article acknowledge the real source of savings: cutting administrative waste.

We’re trying a new rapid response action today: would you write a 150-word letter to the editor in response to this misleading article?

The NYTimes provides guidelines for submitting a LTE. Here’s a few more style suggestions:

• Focus on one important point; don’t try to address separate issues in one letter.
• Maximize your chance of being published by removing every non-essential word. For example, don’t say, “I think…”
• Don’t use all capital letters or bold text to emphasize a word.

Send your letters to letters@nytimes.com.

Thank you for your rapid response!