In recent years, health care has been a major issue in Congress, as many have decried it as an anchor holding back attempts to tame the deficit.
While many have cast Medicare as a money-wasting program, ordinary Americans have come out against this assertion, as they feel this program is a sacred cow that shouldn’t be touched under any circumstances.
James P DeVellis, a doctor who practices medicine in Woburn, Massachusetts, has treated countless seniors who depend on Medicare on an ongoing basis.
Their ability to access health care is greatly compromised at their age, which is why James supports its preservation.
Wondering why Medicare is important? We’ll break down the reasons in the article below.
It provides security to people in their old age
After decades of service to their employers, their business, or their communities, most step down from their posts to take what will hopefully be a dignified retirement.
For reasons which may not be their fault, some leave the workforce without having sufficient money to live the rest of their lives in comfort.
As we get older, our bodies break down easier, leading to more frequent trips to the hospital. Were it not for Medicare, seniors would be forced to pay astronomically high premiums while attempting to survive on a fixed income.
Worse, they might not be able to afford insurance at all, inevitably leading to a situation where a major health issue could bankrupt them, inflict economic hardship on their children, or cause them to die well before their time.
Medicare prevents these scenarios from coming to pass by covering the health care costs of our seniors so the health issues they face won’t ruin them financially.
It has provided financial stimulus for the development of new treatments
By covering the health care of those 65 years and older, the federal government ushered an era of medical advances that followed its implementation.
With hospitals getting paid money they otherwise would have never gotten from destitute seniors, they were able to roll these profits into R&D which has given us new cardiac procedures, imaging machines, and equipment designed to handle elderly patients.
With the boomer generation starting to gray, they will be putting all these tools to good use in the coming years.
It is a great model for the creation of a single-payer healthcare program
While Medicare isn’t without its drawbacks, it is notable for how it has enabled an entire population of Americans to access some of the best health care in the world, thanks to taxpayer funds.
While some deride this program for the very fact that it depends solely on public funding, it has given us an example how tax money can be put to good use.
Health care is a hot issue in 2017, not just because of Medicare and Obamacare, but due to the fact that a majority of Americans now support the institution of a single-payer health care system.
With Medicare providing an ideal model to build from, it is important to keep this program around so when a pro-health care reform administration takes power, they will know where to start when they set out to build a single-payer system here in America.