LETTER: The time has come for universal health care

To the editor:

The time has come for the United States to provide for and protect its citizens — the true leaders of any democracy — in the most basic way: with universal (single-payer) health care. Every other major country in the world, and even some smaller ones, have understood its necessity and risen to meet the need.

Some people say they don’t want to pay for other people’s health care, but the reality is they already are and always have been. And another truth is this: Universal health care saves money. When the government can negotiate pricing on behalf of the taxpayers, costs drop; when hundreds of thousands of people are no longer going bankrupt each year because of medical bills, the burden on taxpayers to pick up that slack is lessened; when more people are able to get care they need in order to work or attend school, and employers can focus on paying wages and not insurers, our economy grows.

If we can keep costs low and coverage high, we have everything to gain.

Barring the Unites States adopting single-payer any time soon, the opportunity then lies with each state to establish its own universal coverage. Fortunately for New York (thanks in part to New York City), we have one of the top economies in the country (as reported in Business Insider, “RANKED: The economies of all 50 US states and DC from worst to best,” August 3, 2015), so not only should we do this, but we can do this. Doctors, nurses, hospitals — even insurers — are worried about the potential implementation of the new administration’s health care bill (as reported in the New York Times, “In Rare Unity, Hospitals, Doctors and Insurers Criticize Health Bill,” May 4, 2017).

The CBO score on what was passed in the house was devastating. So, let’s not waste time. Let’s step into the future (or, more accurately, let’s catch up to the present) and support NY Senate Bill 4840 and The Campaign for NY Health, and give every New Yorker the peace of mind and opportunity they deserve.