Our healthcare costs will break us all

Our health care costs will end up breaking us all

To the editor:

Re: "Attleboro could be facing $5 million deficit due to rising health insurance costs;" "North Attleboro facing possible $2M deficit in health insurance budget," news stories, front page, Dec. 12:

Attleboro's possible $5 million health insurance budget deficit, along with North Attleboro's possible $2 million problem of the same, is reasonably concerning to the city and town officials, insureds, and taxpayers who pay the bills.

Use of free cash to make up the shortfall, while effective in the short term, is only a Band-Aid on the gaping wound that is the state of health care on the only major industrialized country that does not offer health care by right.

Attleboro and North Attleboro do not stand alone, as every city, town and employer, all face the same challenge.

Since health care has been made central to political arguments, and since health care is by nature the practice of medicine as opposed to politics, so long as health care remains a political argument and not a practical one, the wound continues to fester, whereby costs continue to skyrocket with no end in sight.

As in all problems, unless there is the will to solve them, it is impossible to do so. Since there is proof the political party in control does not wish to extend ACA subsidies, and since their sole plan to address health care is no plan at all, but rather only ideas and frameworks, it becomes true, their will to solve the problem does not exist.

Given the United States is the richest nation on earth, and given all other major industrialized countries have addressed this problem, there is no reasonable explanation as to why our country stands alone with a healthcare system near collapse, where cities, towns and insureds all face untenable cost increases.

It is long past time to start looking at health care not through a political lens, but through a lens of what is just, right, fair, good and true, and in concord with the rest of the major industrialized countries of the world.

This can be done, but only if the will exists.

Glenn Hill

Norfolk