On the recordJanuary 19, 2011
The for-profit health care system is the problem. Eight hundred billion dollars every year is spent on corporate profits, stock options, executive salaries, advertising, marketing, and the cost of paperwork. In the for-profit system that we have, nearly 1 out of every 3 dollars goes for things not related to health care. If we took that $800 billion and spent it on care for people, we would have enough money to cover all medically necessary needs in addition to dental care, vision care, mental health care, prescription drugs, and long-term care. We now have a situation where 50 million Americans don't have any health insurance. Americans wouldn't have to worry about losing everything they've worked a lifetime for because there is an illness in the family. This debate is the wrong debate. A for-profit model is the wrong model. We should be talking about universal health care, single-payer, not-for-profit health care, Medicare for all, quality health care for all Americans.
