58 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 34 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds   

Why We Need Single Payer Health Care

By       (Page 4 of 11 pages) Become a premium member to see this article and all articles as one long page.   10 comments
Follow Me on Twitter     Message Jeffrey Dach
Become a Fan
  (12 fans)
To read more about this topic see:
Making Your Health Insurance Company Pay Up by Jeffrey Dach MD

Author: Jeffrey Dach MD

Link to this article:
http://jeffreydach.com/2008/10/27/why-we-need-single-payer-health-care-by-jeffrey-dach-md.aspx

(c) 2008-9 Jeffrey Dach MD All Rights Reserved
This article may be reproduced on the internet without permission,
provided there is a link to this page and proper credit is given.

References and Links:

http://www.drs.org.au/new_doctor/84/Sirota.pdf
David Sirota | How Corporate America Perpetuates the Health Care Crisis   

http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/2628/
By David Sirota      In These Times     Monday 01 May 2006

http://select.nytimes.com/2006/05/01/opinion/01krugman.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Op-Ed Columnist   Death By Insurance  By PAUL KRUGMAN Published: May 1, 2006

For lower-income working Americans, lack of health insurance is quickly becoming the new normal. That's the implication of survey results just released by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonpartisan organization that studies health care. The survey found that 41 percent of nonelderly American adults with incomes between $20,000 and $40,000 a year were without health insurance for all or part of 2005. That's up from 28 percent as recently as 2001.

http://healthcare.kucinich.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=2
Universal Health Care    
 
"Health care is an essential safeguard of human life and dignity and there is an obligation for society to ensure that every person be able to realize this right."

Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, Chicago Archdiocese

Our health care system is broken, and HR 676, the Conyers-Kucinich bill, is the only comprehensive solution to the problem. It is also the system endorsed by more than 14,000 physicians from Physicians for a National Health Program. Nearly 46 million Americans have no health care and over 40 million more have only minimal coverage. In 2005 some 41% of moderate and middle income Americans went without health care for part of the year. Even more shocking is that 53% of those earning less than $20,000 went without insurance for all of 2005. In fact, the National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine estimates that 18,000 Americans die each year because they have no health insurance.

The American health system is quite sick. Pulitzer Prize journalists Donald Barlett and James Steele, in their stunning analysis of the health care industry, Critical Condition (2006 Broadway Books), insist that "... U.S. health care is second-rate at the start of the twenty-first century and destined to get a lot worse and much more expensive." Considering the following facts from Tom Daschle's article for the Center for American Progress: "Paying More but Getting Less: Myths and the Global Case for U.S. Health Reform":

1. Americans are The Healthiest People in the World.
FACT: Citizens of 34 nations live longer than Americans.

2. The U.S. is the Best Place to Get Sick.
FACT: The World Health Organization ranked the U.S. 37th in the world for health system performance. Countries like Australia and the United Kingdom rank above the U.S. Americans have lower odds of surviving colorectal cancer and childhood leukemia than Canadians who do have national health care. Americans also experience greater problems in coordination of care than the previously mentioned countries and New Zealand.

3. Covering All Americans Will Lead to Rationing.
FACT: Same-day access to primary-care physicians in the U.S. (33%) is far less available than in the United Kingdom (41%), Australia (54%) and New Zealand (60%). Per capita spending for health care averaged $2,696 in countries without waiting lists and $5,267 in the U.S.

4. Global Competitiveness is Hampered in Comprehensive System.
FACT: "Health care costs are not just a burden and barrier to care for individuals; they are taking a heavy toll on American businesses." The strain on employers in 2005 was staggering. "The average total premiums for an employer-based family plan was $9,979 in 2005 ..." Most of our competitors in the world markets finance their systems outside corporate taxes and employer mandates. Without Medicare for Everyone, the U.S. will continue to hemorrhage jobs.

Next Page  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6  |  7  |  8  |  9  |  10  |  11

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Rate It | View Ratings

Jeffrey Dach Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Jeffrey Dach MD is a physician and author of three books, Natural Medicine 101, and Bioidentical Hormones 101, and Heart Book all available on Amazon, or as a free e-book on his web sites. Dr. Dach is founder and chief medical officer of (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Failed Hatchet Job on Larry King, Suzanne Somers, Knockout

Bioidentical Hormones on Oprah, Are They Safe?

Why Natural Thyroid is Better than Synthetic

Wheatgrass, Natural Medicine in the Kitchen

Fish Oil Increases Risk for Prostate Cancer, New Study?

Spontaneous Remission Cancer Breakthrough

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend