When Senator Jeff Merkley ended his town meeting at Summit High School, I was standing with the microphone man waiting to be the next speaker. In the last five years I have had over $300,000 in medical bills, largely because I was a passenger in a head-on collision that broke my bones in 27 places. Along with Medicare I pay $150 a month for supplemental insurance, and these two paid for everything. I have no co-pays and a minimal deductible every year. I have always been able to choose my doctors and any tests I wanted. How can health insurance get any better than this? My only complaint is that Medicare doesn't pay medical providers enough.
Medicare receives 2 to 3% for overhead, while private insurance companies receive 20 - 30%, because "overhead" includes profit. I do not understand why anyone should receive a profit from our illnesses and injuries. The only sensible healthcare reform is Single Payer, which essentially puts everyone on Medicare. Why would anyone rather have whatever insurance they have now?
Don Schuman
