Referencing the recent Dec. 4 Maine Compass entry by Cathleen London, M.D., of Milbridge, “The Problem isn’t Obamacare,” I sympathize with her frustration as an “isolated” primary care physician, mother, and provider in today’s cut-throat health care climate.

I must remind her though of the for-profit health care we have, where a myriad of insurance companies, large corporate-owned hospital systems, and (price-wise) relatively uncontrolled drug firms are vying for money that should primarily be used to treat patients and not siphoned off to corporate suits, stockholders and redundant employees.

The Obama administration never did a serious white paper study comparing costs of a nationalized health care system (like all other westernized countries) vs. our current very expensive, anxiety-filled system. The Affordable Care Act was basically written by the health care industry to deflect the public away from considering a single-payer system and is indeed a problem, albeit another layer, in an already costly, inefficient system. The U.S. spends almost double per person for health care from the next most expensive system (Switzerland) and still leaves more than 30 million residents uninsured.

So as our public health ratings drop on the world stage and businesses suffer from the added costs on employers, Congress and presidential administrations do practically nothing to change. Their re-election efforts would suffer if they did. That’s what deep-pockets lobbying buys you — profits and careers over the public’s well being. Such a sad tune, and only to become worse during our coming Trump administration.

Steve Musica

Richmond

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