Calling for Medicare for All
How many of you remember doctors making house calls? There was a time when a doctor would arrive at your home with a black medical bag and a comforting bedside manner. Those days are long gone, along with the essence of what was once the American health care system.
Last week, the shocking public assassination of a CEO of a major health care company on the streets of New York City captured the world’s attention. The nationwide police dragnet to catch the hooded assassin ended anticlimactically when he was apprehended at a McDonald’s during a bus break in a small town in Pennsylvania. He was caught red-handed, carrying the weapon and a manifesto.
The assassin turned out to be a highly intelligent Ivy League-educated engineer with a personal vendetta against America’s health care system.
His actions sparked a heated debate about the widespread dissatisfaction with a system where insurance companies routinely deny coverage for life-saving medications and procedures, leaving desperate patients burdened with crushing financial debt.
Today, the leading cause of bankruptcy in America is health care debt. This issue transcends race and class, affecting nearly everyone at some point in their lives. Personally, I’ve been fortunate to receive excellent health care throughout my career as a firefighter, which continued into my retirement. Now that I’m on Medicare, I haven’t encountered any problems, even after enduring two heart attacks, open-heart surgery, and a stroke—all within the last five years. (Yes, I know— I’m falling apart.) Without good insurance, I’m not sure where I’d be now. Actually, I do know.
One of my most striking memories during my many hospital stays was the wristband I received upon check-in, covered in barcodes. Every time a nurse entered my room, they would scan the band, and I’d hear a distinct ChaaChingg. It was a constant reminder that every service or medication was being logged, calculated, and charged.
My real wake-up call came when my son turned 26 and was no longer eligible to stay on my health insurance plan. I received a letter from Blue Cross Blue Shield offering to continue his coverage—for $1,500 a month. That was the moment I fully realized how broken our privatized health care system is —a system that prioritizes profits and shareholder dividends over people’s well-being.
The assassinated CEO reportedly earned $10 million annually in total compensation, while his company raked in over $2 billion in revenue in 2023. It’s profoundly immoral that corporations and individuals amass unimaginable wealth from the suffering of others.