Oncologists have a “moral and ethical obligation” to their patients to advocate for a single-payer universal health insurance program, according to two oncologists who stated their case in an editorial.
A single-payer system would simplify healthcare delivery for patients and providers without sacrificing quality of care, said Ray Derasga, MD, and Lawrence Einhorn, MD, in an editorial published online in the Journal of Oncology Practice, a journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
The switch to such a national system would face huge and innumerable challenges, but gradual implementation, perhaps even on a state-by-state basis, would reduce the administrative burdens, they wrote.
“Because the [Affordable Care Act or ACA] will fail to remedy the problems of the uninsured, the underinsured, rising costs, and growing corporate control over care giving, we cannot in good conscience stand by and remain silent,” said Derasga, a retired oncologist in Chicago, and Einhorn, of Indiana University in Indianapolis.
“Life is short, especially for some patients with cancer; they need help now.”
Making Their Case
Derasga and Einhorn state their case for a single-payer system by delineating problems that such a system could address:
- Reduced administrative costs, which currently account for almost a third of healthcare expenditures
- Eliminating many bankruptcies attributable to healthcare costs, which accounted for more than 60% of family bankruptcies identified in a 2009 report
- Improved health, as indicated by evidence that being uninsured increases the mortality hazard by 40%
- Building on an existing structure, noting that about 60% of all healthcare in the U.S. is publicly funded
- Implementation of proven cost-containment strategies, which are absent from the ACA
- Improving quality of care and outcomes by increasing access to care
- Reverse the trend toward for-profit, investor-owned healthcare plans
- Preserve physician’s income potential, as judged by experience with the Canadian healthcare system
The authors devoted special attention to the cost of drugs and devices. They cited a study showing that pharmaceutical companies charge 50% more in the U.S. than in Europe for the same drugs. Much of the difference can be traced to large outlays for marketing and for a 20% profit margin, they said. By comparison, research and development (R&D) accounts for about 13% of drug costs.
God Bless Drs. Einhorn and Derasga!!! I hope more doctors step up to the plate (with bullhorns)!
The only ‘huge and innumerable’ challenges would be the obstructionism and criminal skullduggery of Rethugs and the millionaire contributors. The multi-billion dollar cash cow for the 1% that is the American Health care system would put a real crimp in the lifestyle of those handful of CEOs and Bank managers that own Congress. Why give up profit when the ‘little people’ can just die?