[2]National Nurses United




This is part three of our series “What could have been: Covid-19” to
discuss how our response to Covid-19 would have differed under Medicare
for All.



When a 60-year-old intubated coronavirus patient in Philadelphia was told
she needed to be airlifted to another hospital 20 miles away with more
resources – it was life or death.

She spent six weeks at the new hospital and survived. When she came home,
a letter arrived: The air ambulance company said she owed them $52,112 for
the trip.

[ [link removed] ][IMG]

This story is all too common. Surprise medical billing
refers to large medical bills that patients are burdened with after
receiving care that is out of their health insurance provider network –
often without knowing and sometimes impossible to avoid. It’s one of the
main contributors to medical debt.

[ [link removed] ]If you want to end surprise medical billing and pass real health care
reform, add your name to our petition calling on elected leaders to adopt
Medicare for All.

[ [link removed] ]Add your name »

Surprise billing simply does not exist under single-payer systems because
care is financed centrally. There are no provider networks, and no
opportunities for providers to gouge patients based on arcane and often
unavoidable rules. 

On top of that, patients are not subjected to hours, days, and months of
arguing with insurance companies who have a financial incentive to deny
charges. 

Congress was close to passing a bipartisan bill last year to ban this
practice, but it fell apart at the 11th hour after private-equity firms
who profit from surprise medical billing poured millions into
advertisements opposing the plan. We need a complete health care system
overall that removes predatory companies all together. 

Surprise medical billing preys off people in emergency situations, such as
in ambulance rides and visits to the emergency room where the patient has
no choice. It’s morally wrong. 

With a single-payer, Medicare for All system, patients would be able to
get the care they need without the worry that they might be later hit with
crippling medical debts. 

We need more people rising up against surprise medical billing especially
in the midst of a global pandemic. [ [link removed] ]Will you add your name to build the
pressure against surprise medical billing and grow support for Medicare
for All?

Thank you for taking action. 

Jasmine Ruddy
Organizer
Nurses’ Campaign for Medicare for All 





You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time:
[link removed]