DEAR EDITOR:

As both a concerned citizen and a former health care professional, I’m writing to express my support for single-payer health insurance.

There is a health care crisis in this country causing tragedies every day. Millions of Americans are uninsured. Even those with insurance face rising costs and deteriorating coverage — of the nearly 1 million Americans bankrupted each year by medical bills, more than three-quarters had coverage when their medical problems began. Lack of coverage also forces people to delay or forgo medically necessary care.

COVID-19 made the shortcomings of for-profit health insurance even more painfully clear. In 2020, insurance company executives and shareholders enjoyed record profits, while millions of Americans lost health care coverage. Without coverage, many people could not get the care they needed, and our most vulnerable communities bore the brunt of this. If Medicare for All had been in place during the pandemic, countless lives would have been saved. Both to aid in our recovery and to help manage the public health crises to come, Medicare for All is needed now.

By eliminating the middle men at insurance companies, a single-payer program would control the health care expenses that threaten our economy. And such a program is more affordable than is widely believed. According to the congressional budget office (CBO), improved Medicare for All would save more than $600 billion per year just by reducing paperwork. This savings alone would be enough to pay for the cost of providing comprehensive medical coverage to everyone in the country, with each person having full choice of which doctor and hospital they want. Implementing this would demonstrate a renewed commitment on our part to justice, equity and democratic values.

We cannot wait any longer to enact fundamental health care reform. I’m asking everyone to join the two-thirds of Americans (including a growing majority of physicians) who have expressed support for Medicare for All. Please contact your representatives in Congress and urge them to support the new Medicare for All Act of 2023.

PAT RUSSO

Warren