War on Health Inequity

It is rather sobering to think that despite our outstanding natural and human resources, and our youthful optimism, our nation has won very few wars since its independence. Surely, we won significant skirmishes against Mexico and Spain, and the legendary “greatest generation” won us WW2. We won the war against Native Americans, but are now ashamed to brag about it. We all lost in WW1, since peace after that war-to-end-all-wars was short-lived. So far, we are losing the wars on poverty and drugs, and as long as we continue foster gun violence by being the largest arm seller domestically and in the world, victory in the wars against home grown and global terrorism will remain elusive.

Yet the time to rally for another war is here and now: the war against health inequity. With our insured population compartmentalized as platinum, gold, silver, bronze (…and rust) card-holders, our un-insured being treated like less than deserving, and our healthcare considered as but a commodity to be sold on Wall Street, quality health care is not affordable for everyone. Essential health benefits and financial security are denied to many Americans. Unequal access to healthcare is a form of social injustice. It also weakens our economic potentials and threatens our future. Universal health care is not public charity. It is a social investment.

Medicare was started 50 years ago, and although not perfect, it has offered our senior citizens good health benefits and protection from medical bankruptcy. We now should ask the question: why not extend the same benefits to every American? Why should the young, the working families, the single parents, the unemployed, the homeless or anyone else, deserve less than our seniors? Are we already not indirectly paying for the care of the un-insured through higher premiums? Is there a better way to bring everyone under the same safety net?

Winning wars require at least three conditions and strategies: First, it needs visionary leadership and strong grass-root support. Eventually, the forces that initially opposed Medicare (the American Medical Association and private insurance companies) came around to support it. Second, one must not only consolidate gained territories, but conquer more grounds. This means not allowing special interest groups and ideologues to dismantle Medicare by privatizing it in the form of vouchers transferrable to for-profit insurance groups. Expanding Medicare to younger individuals will broaden the risk pool and help keep down the costs for everyone. A progressive tax structure will replace premiums and out-of-pocket expenses we are now paying. Third, we must improve our operations by minimizing fraud and waste, making the system more efficient and holding down administrative costs. This is doable. Despite its unpopularity, Obamacare has initiated many reasonable measures to insure providers’ accountability and improve care delivery. Let us build on it.

Let us declare war on health inequity. A war we can win.

Medicare-For-All. Medically necessary. Financially feasible. Morally justifiable. The winning solution.

(Published in the Gazette-Times, August 2015, Corvallis, OR)