To the Editor:
I recently attended a presentation organized by the Plymouth Indivisible group, by Dr. Timothy Magee, representing the nonprofit “Healthcare for all Minnesota” in which he made an excellent argument for universal and single payer health care.
We learned that the United States has health services that are about average compared to European countries and Canada, and in many ways not as good, but we pay significantly more for that care. A large portion of that extra expense is ultimately used to run the health care insurance system, and another large portion is spent by health care provides doing their part of the insurance paperwork.
There is no evidence that our current insurance system provides meaningful benefits, and a great deal of evidence that switching to a medicare-for-all approach will work better and cost much less. Only those in the health care insurance industry itself seem to be against this. I plan to let my representatives in the U.S. Congress know that I want them to support legislation that moves us in that direction. I call for others to join me in that effort.
Barbara Boldenow, Plymouth
Plymouth Sun-Sailor, December 7, 2017