Gaps in Health Insurance

The excellent June 3th editorial in the Daily News had a couple of "gaps in details." I detailed the points they made and added a couple of of my own. We all have a tendency to call the health care we need "universal care." That's true but misleading. The for-profit insurance/Medicare plan is universal; but it's not single-payer, which is actually what we need. The patients over age 65 now covered by Medicare are our sickest population and the most likely to use health care services. The rest of our population as a whole require much less care. Medicare-for-all will do two things that will reduce costs; yet cover everyone. An illness prevention program will be available to all; the under age 65 people will cost less than the sicker seniors. Seniors are at much greater risk of hospitalization, end-stage illness and death. Do the math!
Next time you mention universal health care for all, be sure that you use the expression "single payer."

Americans pay for gaps in insurance

The excellent June 3rd Daily News editorial, “Americans pay for gaps in insurance,” almost says it all. However, as a family physician I’m compelled to submit a short resume with a couple of personal observations.
I agree that insured Americans subsidize care for the uninsured. I’m well aware that “emergency room care remains one of the most expensive and least efficient ways to treat routine illness.” Everyone who walks into an emergency room must be evaluated and receive care, unless they can be safely sent home or transferred to a public facility.
A report by Families USA advocates universal health care. Congress has been considering “making sure Americans have a choice of doctors and health plans through a mix of affordable private and public offerings.”
That process will result in universal health care, but not what we really need. Medicare is a single-payer plan. Every Medicare senior is covered for life. There is one set of rules. No “pre-existing” condition can disqualify them for coverage. The for-profit health insurance companies each have different rules about what they will or will not cover, or which doctor or hospital the patient may go to. This nightmare increases confusion and expenses for doctors and the cost of taking care of patients.
We need a “universal, single-payer” system—Medicare for everyone. Everyone will have coverage at a cost less than the “For-profit/Medicare choice plan. And without the 46 million people now not covered at all, we will be a healthier country.

Melvin H Kirschner, MPH, MD