It is with profound disappointment that I write this response to U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s op-ed on Nov. 21 in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. I have not found any scholarly analysis, report or statement from any healthcare professional/association which supports this view. Her interest in repealing the ACA individual mandate is simply without any fact-based rationale, and unfortunately aligns with errant GOP soundbites.
She wrote, “I believe that the federal government should not force anyone to buy something they do not wish to buy, in order to avoid being taxed.” Are you truly this misinformed senator? When an uninsured 20-year-old has an accident in his vehicle, or more likely these days is shot, and requires two weeks of ICU care who pays? The hospital does not write it off, they shift the costs of the uninsured to the insured in the form of higher service fees. Then the insurance company recovers their lost revenue by increasing my premiums. This isn’t rocket science, so yes, the government should absolutely make the uninsured pay a penalty because otherwise everyone’s premiums increase, as does the number of uninsured.
These are the exact circumstances the healthcare system had prior to the ACA and it was totally economically unsustainable. Interestingly, these are the same set of facts the CBO, the American Academy of Actuaries, and all healthcare industry groups have warned the GOP repeatedly stating a repeal of the mandate would lead healthy individuals to drop coverage the raise rates for everyone else.
That leaves one to wonder how you can be so misinformed? What is it you are hoping to gain in this GOP tax bill that you would entertain such a silly action? I am not comfortable leaving my neighbors out in the cold and urge you to reconsider your views on health care. Healthcare is not a personal choice, it is a collective investment. By the way, should your constitutional obligations, financial cost savings, and concern for your fellow citizens aren’t enough to demonstrate how we are all in this together when it comes to health, I have two words for you. Infectious disease. Viruses and bacteria don’t discriminate based on economic status. I certainly hope the gentleman coughing next to you in line at Starbucks didn’t have influenza, or tuberculosis. Let’s hope he has a medical home and does not fear the cost of care so he gets evaluated soon. He could infect a lot of people, including children, before we see him in the ER after he finally collapses on the street. Infectious diseases teach us that we are all in this together whether we like it or not.
• Dr. Jennifer Meyer is Assistant Professor of Allied Health and Co-Chair of the Allied Health Department at the University of Alaska Fairbanks College of Rural and Community Development.
