(BSDMS) – WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) declared renewed calls for Medicare for All in the U.S. on Thursday. Jayapal was responding to an American doctor who works in Canada and wrote an opinion piece saying the nation’s universal healthcare is allowing it to better respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
Dr. Hendry is a US doctor in Canada. Here's what she says about American health care: "I know we can do better, because I see it every day. It's worth fighting for a system that puts public health ahead of profits: Medicare for All."
Let's make it happen!https://t.co/vErFUnnYOC
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) August 6, 2020
A family physician named Khati Hendry who works in British Columbia after moving out of California and into Canada published an opinion piece on USA Today on Wednesday, writing that she’s “never felt more grateful to work in a universal healthcare system than during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.”
“My heart aches for the millions of Americans who have fallen ill and then have had to worry about how they will pay for tests and treatment, who have gone to work while sick for fear of losing their health coverage or who have lost not only their jobs but their insurance, leaving them at risk for financial ruin,” Hendry wrote.
“Many of my American colleagues tell me that they’re burned out from administrative demands and anguished from seeing patients not get the care they need because of cost. Now it is worse, as the number of uninsured has soared with the pandemic. My message for them is this: I know we can do better because I see it every day, Khati Hendry, MD continued writing.
Hendry mentioned that because Canada guarantees healthcare , “Canadians are much less likely to delay testing or treatment for COVID-19, or for the chronic medical conditions that increase the risk of severe illness and death from the virus.”
Hendry went in her op-ed to say that Canada’s system isn’t only better for patients, but also for various medical professionals and the doctors that aren’t carrying the burden of “the administrative headache of multiple insurance companies.”
Hendry’s op-ed reads:
“Many of my American colleagues tell me that they’re burned out from administrative demands and anguished from seeing patients not get the care they need because of cost. Now it is worse, as the number of uninsured has soared with the pandemic. My message for them is this: I know we can do better, because I see it every day. It is worth fighting for a system that puts public health ahead of profits: Medicare for All.”
Jayapal is an outspoken supporter of Medicare for All, she also introduced legislation in congress in 2019 that establishes a health insurance program nationally for all Americans. At the time in August 2019, the bill had 118 cosponsors. In April the Democrat from the state of Washington also joined in with Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to introduce the Health Care Emergency Guarantee Act to “fully cover the cost of medically necessary healthcare, including prescription drugs” for Americans who currently don’t have health insurance due to the pandemic.
Jayapal said at the time that “Our broken healthcare system is failing to protect millions of Americans from the coronavirus pandemic. Now more than ever, we need to take bold action to prevent more Americans from getting sick or dying.”
Senator Bernie Sanders recently introduced a bill in congress that would tax the richest in America 60% of their pandemic gained wealth one-time to pay for Americans’ healthcare expenses for one year.
Kyle James Lee – BSDMS – This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
