Leftover sends Robert Weissman’s response to the Supreme Court’s decision last week. Weissman writes:
In upholding most of the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court lets stand legislation that offers some important benefits, but only to a portion of those who are uninsured, and will predictably fail to solve our nation’s health care crisis.
However the health reform law ultimately plays out, we know two things for certain: Tens of millions of Americans will remain uncovered as will tens of millions of under-insured who will remain at risk of financial ruin if a major illness strikes; and it will leave the private health insurance and pharmaceutical industries in charge of prices and life-and-death treatment decisions.
There is a single solution to the challenges of providing coverage to the 50 million who are uninsured that would curb out-of-control health care costs and provide a humane standard of care to all who enter the medical system. That solution is an improved Medicare-for-All, single-payer system.
Everybody in. Nobody out.
Single Payer.
Fiscally sound. Financially sustainable. Morally agreeable. Constitutionally sound. And even pro-business.
Why continue to tinker with incrementalism and complex machinations designed to put profits ahead of people. The solution is staring us right in the face.
Everybody in. Nobody out.
Correct on all points, leftover! Single Payer is business-friendly, and big business agrees. The Big Three Auto Manufactures love single payer, and I bet practically all other businesses would agree, too. After all, their health care expenses would go away, and they could get rid of all those HR folks who need to deal with company health plans, etc.
Except for the health insurance industry, of course, which has pretty much bought our legislators because profits (or probably more precisely bonuses and personal wealth accumulation) are far more important to those controlling the levers of power than is the welfare of the public.
A. men.