TheWiseOldFart

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Hospital, more than $26,000. Ride in a Fire Department ambulance, eight miles, more than $2,200.00. This was my bill for three-and-a-half days of medical care in Northern Nevada. My wife will be 74 this year; I am 78. Our only income is from Social Security. We pay our bills, and with about a 40 percent increase in our grocery bill, and a 60 percent increase in our gas and electric bill, we have nothing left at the end of each month. We paid into Social Security and Medicare for all of our working years, about 40 for each of us. We have not been able to pay for Medicare part B, and also pay our house payment. Why we should have to pay for anything after four decades of paying into the program, I will never understand. The United States is the only Country in the developed world without universal healthcare. Of course, I had some tests, but most of the time I was bedridden, never offered as much as a glass of water, only ice chips, and served food I...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Republicans continue to cost our nation billions and possibly trillions of dollars every year. Their allegiance to the super-rich and large corporations saves them money but wastes hundreds of billions of dollars by preventing changes in our healthcare system which continues to fail as many as 80-90 percent of our nation’s people. Republicans want to reserve the best healthcare in America for their wealthy supporters and themselves. Remember, you pay for theirs. FACTS REPUBLICANS DON’T WANT YOU TO KNOW [ The United States spends more on healthcare per person than any other high-income country, and more than the governments of six countries with universal healthcare combined: In 2022, the U.S. spent $12,555 per person on healthcare, which is more than $4,000 more than comparable countries. The U.S. government also spent more on healthcare than the governments of Germany, France, the U.K., Italy, Spain, and Austria combined.] Taking into account both the costs of ...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   Every developed nation in the world offers 100 percent of their people free healthcare with the exception of the United States of America. This is an embarrassment for every politician who fallaciously claims that America is the greatest country in the world. Great countries place their people first. Our country places corporate profits ahead of 330 million men, women, and children. A report including 15 developed nations place the United States in 15 th place when quality of life is the topic. After the passage of “Obamacare” in March, 2010, the number of Americans without healthcare decreased. However, 27.2 million Americans remain uninsured. Not included in these statistics are millions of elderly men and women who have Medicare part A, but cannot afford Medicare part B. My wife and I are two of them. The statistics vary by region. For example, in Massachusetts, the number of uninsured is 2.5 percent, while in Texas, the number is 18 percent. The rate ...