Third way on health care

In almost all the Affordable Care Act discussions, people for and against improved insurance continue to assume that single-payer is the only option for national health care. It isn’t.

I lived overseas. The country had national health care and insurance companies. The government mandated a set basket of basic services available to all citizens. All insurers had to accept anyone who wanted to sign up. The laws also allowed the firms to sell extra insurance for things such as elective surgery at additional cost.

Our Constitution talks about general welfare, and basic health care should be a right. However, we’re also a nation that believes in competition. Both things can be achieved with universal health care done in the way mentioned above. It’s time to stop the false narrative of universal health care and single-payer health care being identical.

David Teich

Spokane Valley