Editor,
Your letter regarding health care in the U.S. was interesting to say the least and highly misinformed as well. You seem to feel that providers of health care may arbitrarily decide how and when they will treat patients.
So let’s start with clinical trials. These trials are designed by the government, pharmaceutical companies, device companies and even health care systems. Selection of patients for such trials is very specific as to disease, age, sex, location and even other illnesses. No single physician has the right to even participate in a clinical trial much less make decisions on who will participate in the study unless this falls within the study design. More than 90 percent of health care providers in the U.S. accept Medicare and Medicaid but because the reimbursement for this is so poor they must have a mixture of insured and non-insured patients to keep the practice going. There is staff to pay, buildings to be maintained, supplies to buy, etc. That is just business.
Lastly, no individual can be turned away from an emergency room in the U.S. without being seen by a medical provider and evaluated for further care. It’s the law. As for letting poor people “die off,” I might point out to you that the U.S. spends more health care dollars maintaining patients in the last 6 -12 months of their lives. Billions of dollars. So whether you are an American citizen, an Australian here on vacation or you crossed the border illegally an hour ago you can get health care that is the result of the outstanding health system in this country.
Carol Waite
UNM reader
