Health care: A human right, not a political football

Re: “GOP split in final push for health bill,” (TNT, 7/10).

All Americans should have health care, a human right and a public health issue.

In the 1960s, Medicare was not called Johnsoncare. Modern health care legislation should be called Americare, not Obamacare or now Trumpcare. Take the politics and squabbling out of the issue concerning most Americans.

We need to work on taking out the profit factors and excessive bureaucracy that contribute to driving up costs. Other countries seem to have figured this out. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel.

Many Americans could afford to retire earlier, giving up their jobs to other job seekers, if not for having to wait until age 65 for Medicare.

Employers should not be able to cherry pick what health care they want their employees to access. It should be between a patient and the doctor or pharmacist; no employer should even know if a person needs birth control, counseling, diabetes medications, etc.

Medicaid recipients should not be labeled lazy, or a “dumping ground for the able bodied.” Many Americans are just a few medical bills from bankruptcy or worse.

Ironically, policy-makers enjoy the best health coverage, yet base their policies on stereotypes, assumptions and unfounded information about the rest of us.

This story was originally published July 18, 2017 at 2:20 PM with the headline "Health care: A human right, not a political football."