Letter to the Editor
Salt Lake Tribune
07/17/2009
Because I am a physician and attorney with many years of experience in both fields, I can say unequivocally that the best way to solve the escalating cost in health care is also the best way to reduce medical errors and nearly eliminate medical malpractice lawsuits. It is also the simplest solution and it pays for itself without resorting to budgetary tricks.
The solution I refer to is single-payer Medicare for all, embodied in Rep. John Conyers’ bill, HR676. Simply put, single-payer Medicare for all eliminates health insurance companies as the middleman. Health care that is publicly financed and privately delivered returns health decisions to their proper place — solely between the doctor and the patient.
People who don’t have to worry about paying for their future medical care are much less likely to sue, even when injured by negligence. Doctors who don’t have to spend 30 percent of their time and income dealing with bills to 1,200 different insurance companies, and with unjustified denials or limitations of care, will have more time to treat their patients carefully and adequately.
Single-payer Medicare for all is a simple solution that already works for seniors, and it will work for all of us.
Clark Newhall
Salt Lake City
