Affordable health care for all elder Floridians is at the heart of a contented retirement. But far too often, our seniors and all Americans live just one serious illness away from financial ruin. Health care should not be based on what’s best for the business but what’s best for the people. That is why FLARA supports the Single Payer National Health Care proposal as our most important health goal. Also known as the United States National Health Insurance Act, the plan presented by Sen. John Conyers of Michigan, would essentially expand Medicare to cover everyone, with the federal government negotiating rates for all Americans just as it does now for seniors. The program will lower the cost of health care in several ways. It allows for the biggest possible risk pool and eliminates the inefficient layers of billing and processing that exist in today’s private insurance system. It benefits employers by eliminating the need for companies to provide health care plans to their employees. Additionally, it ends health care as a profit-driven enterprise available based only on peoples’ ability to pay.
