Letter to the Editor - All should support Medicare for All

Editor,

Expanded and Improved Medicare for All has benefits so clear and impressive, it is absurd for any informed American to not insist on congress implementing H.R. 676.

The U.S. spends twice as much per capita on health care as other industrialized nations, yet ranks near bottom on nearly all health indicators. Today, 30 million Americans still have no health insurance and another 40 million are underinsured. Medical bills are responsible for most bankruptcies, even in families with health insurance. Prescription dugs prices are the highest in the world. We spend $31 trillion per year on health care administrative costs.

Expanded and Improved Medicare for All cuts those costs and saves $500 billion per year. Negotiated drug and medical device prices could save $150 billion yearly. These savings are more than enough to cover all Americans with comprehensive care, including dental, vision and prescriptions, with no co-pays or deductibles. Fudning through modest progressive taxes would be less than all current health care expenses for 95 percent of households. Care would remain privately delivered with free choice of doctors and hospitals.

There would be no insurance companies’ maximizing profits. Employers would no longer have to provide health insurance. This is not socialized medicine. 

Richard A. Damon, MD

Bozeman