To the Editor:
Re “Warren Unveils Medicare for All at $20.5 Trillion” (front page, Nov. 2):
Hooray for Senator Elizabeth Warren’s health plan. If adopted, every citizen, finally, would have health insurance, and America’s astronomical medical costs would be arrested. A political blunder? Not once the senator’s public education campaign takes hold and puts into play information such as this:
Among the wealthy nations the United States has higher infant mortality rates and lower longevity rates despite spending as much as double or more on health care. Several studies estimate the inefficiencies in America’s $3.5 trillion bloated system to be as much as a third or more.
Citizens in other rich countries don’t file for bankruptcy because of medical costs — the leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States. The elimination of jobs when private insurance companies disappear could be offset by training displaced workers to enter the climate change battle. And, finally, no country anywhere is looking to adopt the American model.
Thank you, Senator Warren, for your specifics on funding health care for all. Now let’s hear similar specifics from the other candidates.
Michael Petit
Portland, Me.
To the Editor:
I was glad to see details of Elizabeth Warren’s plan to finance Medicare for all, but her position will undermine her candidacy in a general election. Support for Medicare for all is wavering, especially when people are asked if they are willing to give up their private insurance, and support for a public option is growing. I urge Senator Warren to release a statement along these lines:
“I believe that universal health care is a human right, and that Medicare for all is the best way of achieving that laudable goal. However, after listening to thousands of people at town halls and elsewhere, I am persuaded that an incremental approach is what will best serve the needs of the American people. I will, therefore, support a plan that allows people to choose private insurance policies or join Medicare. I believe that over time the majority of Americans will choose Medicare and we will achieve Medicare for all, but this incremental approach will be less disruptive in the short term and preserve the freedom of choice that is at the core of the American spirit.”
By doing so, Senator Warren would adopt a position that would garner broader support among the electorate and demonstrate that she is capable of listening and modifying her positions when necessary. That is the mark of a true leader.
Steve Rappaport
Brooklyn
To the Editor:
Your article focuses too much on the negative responses to Senator Elizabeth Warren’s proposal for Medicare for all: It would be too expensive; it would be too progressive and even radical; it would hurt her politically; it would prevent her from beating Donald Trump; it would never get through Congress and be enacted.
Isn’t it exciting, finally, in 2019, that the United States might provide health care for all Americans, whether rich or poor, employed or not? As a physician who has treated thousands of underinsured and uninsured patients, I find the prospect of all of us having health insurance to verge on the miraculous! Please share my delight.
David H. Lehman
Sacramento
To the Editor:
What a shock to see the cost of Elizabeth Warren’s plan for Medicare for all. This kind of cost is what is needed for our climate emergency, not Medicare. Ask millennials and members of Generation Z. They would agree. As a climate activist, I know we cannot afford to lose sight of this necessary goal.
Priscilla Rich
Danville, Calif.
Source: Read Full Article
Home » Analysis & Comment » Opinion | Elizabeth Warren’s Plan to Pay for Medicare for All
Opinion | Elizabeth Warren’s Plan to Pay for Medicare for All
To the Editor:
Re “Warren Unveils Medicare for All at $20.5 Trillion” (front page, Nov. 2):
Hooray for Senator Elizabeth Warren’s health plan. If adopted, every citizen, finally, would have health insurance, and America’s astronomical medical costs would be arrested. A political blunder? Not once the senator’s public education campaign takes hold and puts into play information such as this:
Among the wealthy nations the United States has higher infant mortality rates and lower longevity rates despite spending as much as double or more on health care. Several studies estimate the inefficiencies in America’s $3.5 trillion bloated system to be as much as a third or more.
Citizens in other rich countries don’t file for bankruptcy because of medical costs — the leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States. The elimination of jobs when private insurance companies disappear could be offset by training displaced workers to enter the climate change battle. And, finally, no country anywhere is looking to adopt the American model.
Thank you, Senator Warren, for your specifics on funding health care for all. Now let’s hear similar specifics from the other candidates.
Michael Petit
Portland, Me.
To the Editor:
I was glad to see details of Elizabeth Warren’s plan to finance Medicare for all, but her position will undermine her candidacy in a general election. Support for Medicare for all is wavering, especially when people are asked if they are willing to give up their private insurance, and support for a public option is growing. I urge Senator Warren to release a statement along these lines:
“I believe that universal health care is a human right, and that Medicare for all is the best way of achieving that laudable goal. However, after listening to thousands of people at town halls and elsewhere, I am persuaded that an incremental approach is what will best serve the needs of the American people. I will, therefore, support a plan that allows people to choose private insurance policies or join Medicare. I believe that over time the majority of Americans will choose Medicare and we will achieve Medicare for all, but this incremental approach will be less disruptive in the short term and preserve the freedom of choice that is at the core of the American spirit.”
By doing so, Senator Warren would adopt a position that would garner broader support among the electorate and demonstrate that she is capable of listening and modifying her positions when necessary. That is the mark of a true leader.
Steve Rappaport
Brooklyn
To the Editor:
Your article focuses too much on the negative responses to Senator Elizabeth Warren’s proposal for Medicare for all: It would be too expensive; it would be too progressive and even radical; it would hurt her politically; it would prevent her from beating Donald Trump; it would never get through Congress and be enacted.
Isn’t it exciting, finally, in 2019, that the United States might provide health care for all Americans, whether rich or poor, employed or not? As a physician who has treated thousands of underinsured and uninsured patients, I find the prospect of all of us having health insurance to verge on the miraculous! Please share my delight.
David H. Lehman
Sacramento
To the Editor:
What a shock to see the cost of Elizabeth Warren’s plan for Medicare for all. This kind of cost is what is needed for our climate emergency, not Medicare. Ask millennials and members of Generation Z. They would agree. As a climate activist, I know we cannot afford to lose sight of this necessary goal.
Priscilla Rich
Danville, Calif.
Source: Read Full Article