Voices of Central Pa

Health Care for All PA—a statewide non-profit organization that educates the public and government officials regarding the scope and seriousness of the health care crisis—released an economic impact study last week based on and in conjunction with the anticipated introduction of the Pennsylvania Health Care Plan bill by Senator Ferlo on Tuesday, March 19 at 2:00 pm in the Capitol Media Center, Harrisburg. The results prove that a single-payer health care plan will save families, businesses and tax payers $17 billion annually while at the same time providing comprehensive health care to all.

This study was done by University of Massachusetts - Amherst professor of economics Gerald Friedman, Ph.D. It compares the cost of the current for-profit health insurance model in Pennsylvania whereby provider choice is limited and health services are rationed by health insurance companies to that of a consumer-driven health care system which lets people have the freedom to choose their own doctors, hospitals and health care providers.

Some of the important advantages of a single-payer system are:

• Provides comprehensive coverage for every resident of Pennsylvania, including dental, vision and mental health services;
• Eliminates the need for hospitals to absorb the cost of care for the uninsured;
• Reduces bureaucracy for private physicians resulting in reduced administrative costs and improved compensation for private physicians;
• Reduces or eliminates health insurance over-costs for small business, allowing for more job creation, greater reinvestment of profits, and reduced workers' compensation costs.
• Radically reduces the total cost of health care to levels more consistent with costs in the rest of the industrialized world.