Letter: We really don’t need a single-payer health system

Regarding the April 9 Mark Mansperger op-ed, what we really don’t need is a single-payer health system.

1. Your example of national defense is specious, in that this is one of the few powers expressly reserved for the national government.

2. We have several government-run health programs and none are shining examples! The Veterans Administration is awash in scandal that budget increases during the last administration didn’t manage to cure. Medicare had a 2015 budget of $597 billion and $60 billion in waste. Medicaid had a 2015 budget of $532 billion and $161 billion in waste and fraud (source: multiple websites). Why would we trust the folks who can’t run a railroad properly to run a single-payer health program?

3. “Eliminating greedy insurance companies” makes a great slogan, but please explain how this isn’t a Fourth Amendment issue, or how the shareholder value in pension funds or private investments would be compensated.

This is not to say that there aren’t many problems with the way the U.S. handles the entire issue of health care. However your conclusion that “If you love capitalism ... consider a national health care model” is quite simply illogical and, as usual, at odds with the facts.

This story was originally published April 16, 2017 at 4:32 AM with the headline "Letter: We really don’t need a single-payer health system."