Single-payer plan needed

Re: “Health care now in Obama’s hands” (Jan. 17): Columnist Amy Goodman correctly observes that single-payer health care options to achieve universal health care have been largely ignored in favor of preserving the amalgam of employer-based systems, fraught with failures.

High administrative costs shouldered by America’s businesses, and 50 years of patchwork solutions that are no longer relevant, have placed America’s health care in the hands of the highest-paying lobbyists. Today, 60 percent of total health care spending comes from taxpayers, with an administrative overhead of not more than 2 percent. In contrast, private insurance carries an overhead of almost 15 percent.

We believe universal health care can only be achieved with a national health program. Some argue that it’s socialized medicine; we would argue that we already have long been paying for socialized medicine (see above) – but still not providing health care for all.

Most physicians across America favor the single-payer solution. Costs of nationalizing health care are staggeringly small compared to the massive bailout of financial institutions currently underway. Single-payer preserves the patient’s right to choose their physician, provides for universal healthcare coverage for all Americans, and maintains (and quite possibly improves) our current high standard of health care in America.

Dr. Jeremy Graham

Dr. Chris Anderson

Physicians for a National Health Program,

Eastern Washington Chapter, Spokane