Single payer is solution

A single payer health insurance system in the United States will:$ allow complete patient freedom in selection of health care providers;

$ eliminate much of the fraud in the present system;$ reduce administrative costs to hospitals and physician groups by tens of thousands to millions of dollars in every hospital and medical clinic;

$ immediately improve cash flow to hospitals, physicians and other health care providers;$ eliminate billing and collection problems thereby focusing all medical decision-making to its primary mission of maintaining and/or restoring the health of patients;

$ provide total uniformity in medical documentation, thereby facilitating audit and oversight processes;$ allow the creation of uniform, accurate data bases on costs of providing services, efficacy data on surgical and medical treatment protocols and would serve as an efficient Early Warning System in the event of potential epidemics;

$ stop the financial hemorrhaging in hospital emergency rooms;$ improve the allocation of medical infrastructure and services;

$ reduce per capita medical expenses in the U.S. by as much as 30 to 40 percent while improving our medical delivery system;$ get politics out of the medical decision-making process and return it to the physician and patient;

$ immediately improve America's competitive position in world commerce;$ assure a healthier population thereby augmenting national security, and

$ provide a win-win program for American citizens.America's medical delivery system will thereby be returned to citizens and physicians.

The financial system that now provides payment for health care in the U.S. is schizophrenic and proof of the total irrationality of our nation's leadership and too many American citizens.Providing a mechanism that guarantees that all citizens receive timely and adequate health care is a keystone of our national security. The Preamble of our Constitution states that it is the government's responsibility "to promote the common welfare" of the people.

Nowhere in our Constitution does it say or even imply that the American people have a legal, moral, ethical or Christian obligation to guarantee the profitability of privately owned insurance companies or any other private entity. Corporate interests that take the position that they have some God-given right to impose their self-serving venal and selfish "wants" as being superior to the national security needs of the American people speaks clearly of their greed. I can detect not a whiff of patriotism in any of these company's positions.The selective coverage provided by all private insurance companies betrays their sole intent to collect premiums with no intention of providing coverage except when legally forced to do so. The private insurance industry has had 60 years to prove the efficacy and viability of private health insurance in America. They have failed miserably in that they have consistently sought to privatize all profit and socialize all costs.

The taxpayers of America foot the entire bill for all citizens who end up on Medicaid. Every single dollar paid out for Medicaid is a dollar that ends up as "bottom line after tax profit" in the pockets of private insurance companies.The English philosopher William Occam's razor states that, "One should not increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain (or accomplish) anything." Simple logic appears to escape the minds of all ideologues. The shortest distance between a problem and its solution is always a straight line.

Writing insurance is not a right but a privilege granted by our government. The government should, in conformance with its mandate to "provide for the common good," initiate "Medicare for all" with an universal and equitable graduated tax on all Americans.If big government is susceptible to the abuses of "sinful" human beings, how much more susceptible is a corporate system that is bigger than any government?

Medical care isn't "free" anywhere in this world. It must be paid for. Our hospitals, physicians and other health care workers don't give a damn where their payments come from, but they must be paid or the medical delivery system itself will fail.Medicare for All is a major step in solving the deficit and national debt problem.

Our present complicated health insurance systems are an invitation to fraud. America needs one and only one medical expense financing system. The private insurance industry knows they can defraud some of the American people all of the time and all of the American people some of the time. It's time the insurance industry learned that they cannot defraud all Americans all of the time.It's long past time for American citizens to have a health "assurance" system - not just another health insurance shell game.

J. Albert Rowe is a Coeur d'Alene resident.