By Ewell Scott, M.D.
Lexington Herald-Leader, Letters, Dec. 1, 2012
While agreeing with many of the positive attributes of the Affordable Care Act, as discussed by Richard Cullison recently, the law is not the answer to our health care system catastrophe.
Why? Despite the name of the act, health care will remain unaffordable for most, and 30 million will not be eligible for coverage. The biggest flaw is the act has no provisions to reduce the cost of care or the increase in that cost. We lost Twinkies because of the cost, and our police and firefighters are suing governments to keep up with the outrageous premium increases from private health care insurance companies.
There is a better answer. Medicare for all, from life to death, could save us $400 billion per year. A huge figure, but true. The fiscal cliff could be avoided without needing to cut money for education, security or the military.
We need to stop spending twice as much per capita as other industrialized countries, or we will continue to fall behind.
Dr. Ewell Scott resides in Morehead, Ky.
http://www.kentucky.com/2012/12/01/2427407/dec-1-letters-to-the-editor.html#storylink=misearch