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Recently, letters to the editor have touted “single-payer” universal health care focusing on the evil, profit-making insurance industry, and contend an additional 47 million people would be insured and we'd pay the same or less for medical coverage.
The problem with universal, single-payer health care is the lack of qualified medical doctors and nurses. In recent years, the nursing population has not grown and the doctor population has increased only 1 percent yearly, neither keeping up with population growth. (Statistical Abstract of the United States)
So, there are not enough qualified medical personnel to accommodate an immediate 20 percent increase in the patient population. Even with educational incentives, the number of doctors and nurses won't rise for at least five to 10 years.
And, a natural disincentive is government “slow-pay” and “low-pay,” which forebodes a low return on educational investment.
Putting in a single-payer system means only one thing: bureaucratic rationing. And, rationing is not being addressed by the letter writers, nor by the media or President Obama. Make no mistake, providing adequate medical care for an additional 47 million people means inadequate care for the rest of us.
Norm Sauer
Nevada City
The problem with universal, single-payer health care is the lack of qualified medical doctors and nurses. In recent years, the nursing population has not grown and the doctor population has increased only 1 percent yearly, neither keeping up with population growth. (Statistical Abstract of the United States)
So, there are not enough qualified medical personnel to accommodate an immediate 20 percent increase in the patient population. Even with educational incentives, the number of doctors and nurses won't rise for at least five to 10 years.
And, a natural disincentive is government “slow-pay” and “low-pay,” which forebodes a low return on educational investment.
Putting in a single-payer system means only one thing: bureaucratic rationing. And, rationing is not being addressed by the letter writers, nor by the media or President Obama. Make no mistake, providing adequate medical care for an additional 47 million people means inadequate care for the rest of us.
Norm Sauer
Nevada City
