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Ford Bell on Health Care
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We can't afford not to insure every American
We've been told we can't afford to insure every American, but we know the opposite is true-we can't afford not to insure them because we will pay for it in the end through higher taxes, premiums and health care services.
A big reason for this is because those who are uninsured or underinsured often receive nonemergency care in emergency rooms and can't pay. Their condition perhaps becomes more severe & the treatment more expensive than if they had been treated early on.
Source: Campaign website, www.FordBell.com, "Issues"
Dec 25, 2005
Supports single-payer universal health care
We need to uncouple employment from health care and create a system for single-payer universal health care. Health care must be treated as a right, not as a privilege. As the president of the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, I've seen firsthand
the inequities in our system and, as an employer, I've struggled with the issue of rising health care costs. Surely, there must be a way for us to make sure all our families, businesses and farmers can get access to affordable, quality health care.
Source: Campaign website, www.FordBell.com, "Issues"
Dec 25, 2005
Cost of private health bureaucracy higher than Medicare
Every American deserves access to affordable health care. Yet each day, more than 45 million Americans go without coverage and 16 million more without adequate insurance.
Our companies, large and small, are being crushed by health care costs, making it increasingly difficult for them to compete globally. While our health care system may have been efficient and affordable half a century ago, it's not now.
In fact, today, we spend more on health care than does any other nation in the world. The most shocking part of all this, is that 31.5% of every dollar spent on health care in the U.S. goes to pay for administration and overhead-not care.
In stark contrast, the cost of administration and overhead of Medicare is only 3.5 cents per dollar. Believe it not, most of the cost we pay for health care goes to a bloated and rapidly expanding private sector bureaucracy.
Source: Campaign website, www.FordBell.com, "Issues"
Dec 25, 2005