Dear Editor,

Healthcare should be a human right because no one deserves to die or become very sick due to the lack of health insurance. A 2009 study showed that 45,000 Americans die each year as a result of being uninsured. That’s 45,000 deaths each year that should be completely preventable. 7.21% of Syracuse’s 144,000 population is uninsured. 9% of New York’s 24th Congressional District’s 639,000 members are also uninsured.

That’s over 10,000 Syracuse residents and over a total of 57,000 of Congressman John Katko’s constituents who are uninsured. However, Congressman Katko does not support Medicare for All, a program that would guarantee health care to every single American.

In America, 66.5% of all bankruptcies were due to medical issues and 45% of Americans are worried that a major illness could leave them bankrupt. This fear could be alleviated with a program like Medicare for All because it would get rid of all out-of-pocket costs for healthcare. Under this type of system, Americans would be able to stop worrying about the possible bankruptcy that oftentimes coincides with major illnesses.

Congressman Katko’s opposition to Medicare for All is unacceptable because by not supporting this policy, Katko is allowing his constituents to possibly face bankruptcy, severe illness, or even death as a direct result of their lack of insurance. Since the United States is the richest country in the world, all citizens deserve to have this basic human right and live a healthy life. Therefore, we need to push Congressman Katko to support this policy.

Sincerely,

Evan Greenberg

Freshman

Published on December 11, 2019 at 4:00 pm