Commentary

Health Care Needed, not Health Insurance

With talk of health reform flowing from all angles, it is too easy to get caught in the thick web of politico-ideologies. With a step back and a view of the big picture, a tried and true method of approaching any problem, we may see what we currently receive, why, and what could be different. 
Within the parameters our current system in order to access health care you must participate in the health insurance game. There has been plenty said about how that game is played and how we as individual consumers struggle against bureaucracy to receive care, though what seems infinitely more important to think about in terms of identifying root causes (yet rarely discussed) is why this system exists. 
The health insurance industry exists to generate profits – profits for greed-driven merciless corporate theives (let’s stop being fooled) and profits for equally culpable (for one cannot be neutral on a moving train) shareholders. Our health and well being is of no concern to those whose decisions directly effect the type, quality and amount of care we receive. 
Therefore we cannot claim a healthcare system, but a heath-insurance system. 
What we need is a healthcare system, a system designed with its mission to provide us with the care we need when we need it, alleviating the fear we may not be able to afford ill-health (a thought that sickens me). No ulterior motives and no hidden schemes.  
Does that seem too radical? Well, it is. Radical, by definition, means getting to the root. Let’s get rid of a system that rewards waste and profits at the expense of health and community.
What will benefit us all, as members of neighborhoods, as folks who care for one another, is a system that rewards inclusion, affordibility and most importantly...health. 
We have the opportunity, thanks to courageous Vermont politicians, to make this idea more than a dream. There are bills in the Legislature (H.100 and S.88) that would allow the State of Vermont to act as a single payer, eliminating the need for wasteful insurance middlemen. Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced a bill nationally, not a long shot to be included in upcoming reform, that would allow for a few trial states to operate under their own systems. 
Please support these proposals by holding conversations with co-workers, friends and family, writing letters to the editor and contacting your legislators. 
By acting together, once again we can lead the way on issues that define our country’s values about how we should treat one another. 
For more ways to get involved with the Healthcare is a Human Right campaign, please contact me at matt@workerscenter.org

Matt McGrath
Matt lives in Charlotte and is a member of the Vermont Workers’ Center.