‘Medical Care in United States’

Blanche Boroff’s articulate letter (March 5), “Medical Care in United States,” cites the urgent need for a national health care program as the only sensible alternative to the patchwork combination of our public and private administration of medical care in America.

Boroff observes that “. . . many people are not getting the necessary medical care they should have and many are not being admitted to hospitals except for emergency care” and compassionately warns us that, “I would hope the American public would take seriously the fact that eventually there will be medical catastrophes in this country if there is no government program for the health care of all the people--rich and poor alike.”

The crisis in medical care that we are experiencing is not shared by any other industrialized nation. Other nations view medical care as an integral part of national services such as police protection, postal services, etc. Their national health services are administered and financed (in varying degrees) by their respective government agencies. Even though their coverage includes everyone, their costs are much lower. For example, in England total health costs are 6% of the gross national product; in Canada it’s 7%; in the United States it’s 11.3% and rising.

We could take a leaf from Australia where, since February, 1984, they have instituted a new plan that drastically reduces medical costs. It is universal and funded by a 1% income tax deduction across the board with a $700 cap. Pensioners, disabled, unemployed and low-income workers are completely exempt from any contributions. A nation’s health should be our No. 1 priority.

CARL M. LEVIN

Los Angeles

Boroff asked why the United States does not have a national health program. The answer is simple. The United States is the last bastion of freedom for the private-practice physician in the world. In every other Western country, the government has usurped the freedom of the physician and made him or her a puppet of the state.

It’s not that the United States doesn’t care about health care. The fact is the United States is the last country that cares about individual freedom. And as long as socialists in this nation are defeated, it should that way for a long time.

THOMAS KUNELIS

Los Angeles

Millions of folks and I agree with Blanche Boroff. What we urgently need in these United States is a national health program. I’m an old retired registered nurse and have talked about the need for such a national program for years.

MARTHA GRIFFIN

Pasadena

To Blanche Boroff and other senior citizens who have problems with Dr. Sidney Marchasin’s article (Editorial Pages, Feb. 20) in which he belabors new Medicare guidelines for the elderly:

We do not need a national health program over what we have now. If retired persons with Medicare coverage would only listen to American Assn. of Retired Persons advice, problems with overcharging doctors will be at an end. The trick is to only use doctors who will accept Medicare assignment; thus you are liable for only the 20% cost that Medicare does not pay. And the only supplemental insurance you need is one that will pay the 20% not paid by Medicare and the deductibles.

A list of doctors is available now in every Social Security office and the list grows every day. I do not know why Medicare recipients have so much difficulty with this. If your own doctor to whom you have been a patient for years refuses to accept you as a Medicare patient go elsewhere and take the rest of your family with you. But it is important to make these arrangements before you retire.

Just consider this: It costs you nothing for insurance Part A, Medicare (hospital stay) and $15.50 per month insurance Medicare Part B (doctors visits). In addition there is a $400 deductable for any hospital stay and a $75 deductible for doctor visits. So before you get started it is costing you $661 per year in Medicare insurance costs and deductibles. Add to this the 20% to be paid over what Medicare allows. The average hospital stay is nine days. If you stay more than 60 days you pay an additional $100 per day for the next 30 days. So although you use a Medicare doctor the amount covered by Medicare and deductibles pays for only about 50% of your medical costs. If you don’t use a Medicare doctor your costs are higher yet.

Insurance companies have enough plans to cover the other 50% of your medical costs but the premiums are so high as to be prohibitive. At this point the only way out is to use Medicare doctors and stay as healthy as possible.

All of the above talks about medical costs only. What about dental and vision care. At a time when retirees need these services most Medicare pays nothing. Private insurance is available at high cost.

Remember, there are no free lunches. Even a national health program costs somebody something.

HARRY WALD

Sherman Oaks