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MY STORY

Universal Health Care without Private Health Insurance? Single Payer: The Only Affordable, Lifelong, Comprehensive, Quality Health Care Plan for Every American Robert Zarr, MD, MPH, FAAP RLZARR@yahoo.com DC PNHP www.pnhp.org. MY STORY. Sept 22, 2007,at 1pm, I was assaulted

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MY STORY

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  1. Universal Health Care without Private Health Insurance?Single Payer: The Only Affordable, Lifelong, Comprehensive, Quality Health Care Plan for Every American Robert Zarr, MD, MPH, FAAPRLZARR@yahoo.comDC PNHPwww.pnhp.org

  2. MY STORY • Sept 22, 2007,at 1pm, I was assaulted • Loss of consciousness • Ambulance ride & ER visit • NO in-network ambulance coverage for my insurance policy? • Monthly bills from DC EMS • After 5 months, insurance finally paid ONLY 75% of transport cost

  3. Best health care system in the world?

  4. 18,314 Adult Deaths Annually Due to Uninsurance

  5. We are the best at spending the most money to be ranked 37th in health outcomes by WHO!

  6. Government Funds Most Academic Research

  7. Insurance Overhead 2001

  8. In summary, private insurance: • Is wasteful ($350 billion a year) • Reduces the buying power of 300 million American purchasers (decreased monopsony) • Reduces transparency of health care system problems and solutions • Does not provide lifetime comprehensive quality health care to any American

  9. Individual & employer mandates, HSAs, High Deductible Plans, Free Market models MORE OF THE SAME = Insanity: Try it the same way every time and expect different results.

  10. READY FOR REAL CHANGE? SINGLE PAYER NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE

  11. House Resolution 676: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/thomas United States National Health Insurance Act (Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act)

  12. The 4 principles of single payer: • Access to comprehensive health care is a human right. • The right to choose and change one's physician is fundamental to patient autonomy. • No corporate profit and personal fortune. • In a democracy, the public should set overall health policies.

  13. Single Payer NHI guarantees: • Comprehensive Care • Quality • Choice • Affordability

  14. Single payer NHI would cover every American for all lifetime medically-necessary services: acute, rehabilitative, long term and home care, mental health, dental services, occupational health care, prescription drugs and supplies, and preventive and public health measures

  15. Prescription Drugs and Supplies • NHI would pay for all medically necessary prescription drugs and medical supplies, based on a national formulary • Regional expert panels would establish and regularly update the formulary • NHI would provide all Americans with full coverage for necessary drugs and supplies

  16. Payment for Physicians and Outpatient Care: 3 Options • fee-for-service, or • salaried positions in institutions receiving global budgets, or • salaried positions within group practices or HMOs receiving capitation payments

  17. How Do We Know It Can Be Done? • Every other industrialized nation has a healthcare system that assures health care for all • All spend less than we do; most spend less than half • Most have lower death rates, more accountability, and higher satisfaction • No country has ever adopted single payer, found it to be worse, and switched back

  18. But, can we afford NHI?We can't afford NOT to have NHI!

  19. Projected 2010 Health Care Expenditure Comparison of: Current Health Care System to those of National Health Insurance (NHI, Improved and Expanded Medicare for All, HR 676)

  20. So, is this politically feasible?

  21. Broad Support from: • 92 US Congressional co-sponsors of HR 676 (more than any other bill) • 59% of US physicians • 70,000 medical students • 75,000 nurses • Faith organizations • 2 state governments (Kentucky and N.H. House of Representatives) • U.S. Conference of Mayors • 452 union organizations

  22. Robert Zarr, MD, MPH, FAAP RLZARR@yahoo.com

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