Jon on Healthcare
A new direction

Everyone should have healthcare.

Today 40 million Americans are without health insurance, many here in New Mexico. It is barbaric that in the most advanced society with the most advanced medicine in the world, 40 million of our citizens cannot obtain affordable healthcare.

New Mexicans without health insurance are forced to seek necessary treatment from emergency rooms. They have no access to regular medical check ups and preventive care unless they pay out of pocket. And, almost always, New Mexicans who pay out of pocket are charged more for healthcare than an insurance company would be! This means that many times New Mexicans without health insurance just don’t go to the doctor, even when they need to.

This hurts us all.

First, our friends and neighbors are not receiving the quality medical care they deserve. Second, and very importantly, people without health insurance end up costing the current healthcare system more in the end than it would have cost to treat them before they became very sick.

Emergency room visits for routine care cost the system much more than routine check ups and preventive care would. People without health insurance who self-medicate, borrow medication, or don’t attend follow up visits because they are too expensive risk becoming hosts for drug-resistant diseases to breed and grow, because they can't get proper antibiotics, instructions for taking them, and/or correct diagnoses.

We need to establish a basic standard of affordable healthcare for every American. One problem is that we do not have enough doctors to see everyone. We should start by establishing a basic level of healthcare, so that everyone can see a nurse or a nurse practitioner for wellness care, routine visits, and preventive care, and no one is left behind.

This will still leave us with a great need for more qualified doctors to adequately meet our healthcare requirements. Everyone deserves the opportunity to see a doctor when they are sick. My twin brother is a doctor. We can’t lower their pay. I’ve already seen the best and brightest minds become lawyers or bankers instead of doctors. We should increase doctors’ salaries to keep the best ones and attract more of the same.

Finally, in the end we can’t have long lines at hospitals or long waits to see doctors. We should encourage expansion in the healthcare industry and provide incentives for young doctors to seek employment to open practices in underserved communities.