Letter to the editor: Medicare profiteering robs us of care

As a former social worker and public interest lawyer, I worked on issues related to access to medical care by the disenfranchised. In the 1970s, I co-wrote a 100-page report about inhumane conditions at Kane Hospital. It resulted in two Senate Committee on Aging hearings. I helped form a citizens organization that worked for several years to reform the conditions. Our work resulted in the closing of Kane and four smaller facilities being built around Allegheny County. Kane is the only long-term care facility that still accepts people on medical assistance. Most nursing homes require two years of upfront fees before allowing entrance.

I first heard about President Trump’s plan to require people choosing traditional Medicare to be forced into a program that is now called ACO REACH (which President Biden has continued). It allows Wall Street private equity firms to make even larger profits than many for-profit insurance companies are making under Medicare Advantage.

The media has not given this important issue enough coverage. In Pennsylvania, we have the second highest number of elderly, but most are unaware of the profit-making nature of these programs. Why is Medicare beoming more expensive? Increased profit making.

To get involved, contact National Single Payer at @nsphealthcare or P.O. Box 82528, Pittsburgh, PA 15218.

Mary Lewin

Forest Hills