Robert Goodrich’s letter to the editor, “Medicare for all another bad Dem idea” (Sept. 17), ignores that the Affordable Care Act, though a creature of compromise, has been largely successful, most notably by requiring coverage of pre-existing conditions and providing 20,000,000 more Americans with access to reasonable health care.
Yet, instead of trying to improve it or crafting a better plan, Republicans have undermined the ACA expressly to make it, and the Democrats, look bad. No wonder many Democrats are saying, “Sure, the ACA is flawed, but let’s not trash it and walk away. Let’s improve it; in fact, devise a plan that provides reasonable health care access for all.”
Instead of hurling misleading labels like “socialized medicine” and falsely asserting that broader coverage can’t be offered efficiently and financed responsibly, as it is with other Western democracies, let’s explore how this noble goal could be attained.
The regime for paying medical providers could be much more fair and efficient. Huge savings could be obtained by trimming the role of insurance companies. Expanded Medicare could do what present Medicare should do but doesn’t – negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for much better prices.
Enormous savings would be obtained because people with adequate health care require fewer emergency services that eat up hospital budgets.
Needed added revenue could be provided by taking the rich and super-rich off Republican-constructed welfare masquerading as tax reform.
Instead of being scornful, let’s be imaginative.
Edward Packard
Durango
