As the so-called-free-market economy suffers its biggest test in this new century, the cracks seem to be widening. -rg

5,000 DOCTORS CHALLENGE PRIVATE-INSURANCE SYSTEM

Kansas City InfoZine
October 8, 2008

Over 5,000 U.S. physicians have signed an open letter calling on the
candidates for president and Congress "to stand up for the health of
the American people and implement a nonprofit, single-payer national
health insurance system."

WASHINGTON - Noting that the nation's private-insurance-based model is
failing by denying needed medical care to millions, wasting resources
and driving up costs, the doctors say that a publicly financed system
is "the sole hope for affordable, comprehensive coverage."

A protester in San Francisco holds a sign at a rally in June,
2008. Over 5,000 U.S. physicians have signed an open letter calling on
the candidates for president and Congress "to stand up for the health
of the American people and implement a nonprofit, single-payer national
health insurance system."(Photos by Luke Thomas and John Han - Fog City
Journal)"A single-payer health system could realize administrative
savings of more than $300 billion annually -- enough to cover the
uninsured and to eliminate co-payments and deductibles for all
Americans," they write, adding that it would also slow cost increases.

Dr. Oliver Fein, a professor of clinical medicine and public health at
Weill Cornell Medical College in New York and a signer of the letter,
said today, "With the sudden economic downturn, more people than ever
before are worried about how to pay for health care. A single-payer
system -- an improved Medicare for all -- would lift those worries,
provide care to all who need it and require no new money. It's the
only morally and fiscally responsible approach to take."