I couldn’t agree more with the experience of 25 or so industrialized countries of the world. Yep, we stand alone as the only nation without universal healthcare. We are the only nation that puts profits ahead of healthcare. We rank 26th in the world in patient outcome and behind Cuba in infant mortality.
I worked about 40 years in the healthcare field, in charge of five professional departments, passing hospital accreditation with no recommendations for improvement and rose to administrator on call. It has been my experience that hospitals are generally more interested in bottom-line politics than they are in individuals getting well.
Creating a healthcare system that would better serve patients would, in my opinion, stop some of the egregious price gouging so prevalent in our healthcare system, and the idea that healthcare is a right and not a privilege is correct.
Having said all this, I must add that the powerful lobbies and this White House, and the insurance industry and Big Pharma, make it doubtful any changes will come to healthcare in the USA.
Richard Nielsen, Royal Palm Beach
