July 30 marks the 46th Anniversary of Medicare`s passage, arguably one of the greatest public health treasures of the 20th century. Sadly, with the craze to fix nearly 30 years of deficit spending with the swoop of a pen, this great program is on the chopping block. Republicans and some Democrats seek to cut this "entitlement program" that, according to Representative Paul Ryan ("Ryan urges privatization of Medicare," April 13), is "bankrupting the federal government." I think this analysis fails to shed light on the real issue: administrative waste perpetrated by private health insurance companies. Because of their profit-driven focus, the health insurance industry drives up costs by spending 20% of every healthcare dollar on marketing, CEO`s salaries, etc. Medicare covers 45 million senior Americans and Americans with disabilities, yet its overhead costs are only 3%. Ryan`s plan to privatize Medicare and raise its eligibility age to 67 will only force rates to go up even more because this population of people, who in general have increased healthcare needs, will be thrust into the private market with a flimsy voucher to help pay for health costs. The way to fix our health and financial crises is by increasing and expanding Medicare for all - this will reduce administrative waste, allow the government to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug costs, increase the percentage of healthy people in the program, and centralize patients` medical information for improved quality of care. |
