Medicare for All: Fair, Frugal, and Inclusive

Published on Tuesday, July 26, 2011 by CommonDreams.org

Medicare for All: Fair, Frugal, and Inclusive
by Johnathon Ross

For 30 years I’ve been teaching young doctors how to practice primary care medicine at a center-city clinic in Toledo. Every day we witness heart-wrenching scenes right out of a Charles Dickens novel -- scenes that illustrate the cruelty, arbitrariness and absurdity of our health care “system.”

Imagine for a moment a 64-year-old, low-income and uninsured man whose condition requires hospitalization and specialty care. Due to the likely cost of his treatment, he and his family could soon be facing bankruptcy. As if the physical suffering were not enough, he’s now grappling with a terrible financial crisis.

Right next to him is another patient with the same condition and of similarly modest means. However, because he’s 65 and enrolled in Medicare, he’s able to get dignified and relatively hassle-free care, without the worry of a financial shipwreck. He can go to the doctor and hospital of his choice, get treated and not face overwhelming medical bills.

Two patients, two very different stories -- all because one person just happened to have been born a year earlier than the other.

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http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/07/26-8