Sondra G. Stein: Take profit out of health care

Regarding the Feb. 4 news article “N.C. insurance commissioner blames ACA for industry woes”: It seems more honest to say that the industry, the General Assembly and the governor are responsible for the problems insurance companies face in implementing the Affordable Care Act in North Carolina.

Let’s remember that the purpose of the ACA is not to expand health insurance but to expand access to health care. We achieved that goal in North Carolina, and it would have helped more North Carolinians meet their need for good health care if our state leaders had not blocked Medicaid expansion for low-income adults not covered by Medicaid.

If health insurance companies can make a profit only by insuring healthy people then perhaps we ought to take them out of the mix altogether, since their business model is not congruent with our national goal of giving every American – including sick Americans – access to health care.

Perhaps the real answer to health care for all is not insurance but, as Bernie Sanders reminds us, Medicare-for-all: a single-payer plan that takes profit out of the equation and puts health care first.

This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 4:15 PM with the headline "Sondra G. Stein: Take profit out of health care."