This letter to the editor by Medicare for All CT member Tanvee Varma appeared in the New Haven Register on July 29, 2021.
On Aug. 2, the New Haven Board of Alders is going to vote on a resolution in support of Medicare for All. Medicare for All would guarantee health care as a human right and provide national health insurance to every person in the United States.
As a medical student at Yale, I have witnessed and heard stories from my fellow classmates about how our current health care system fails New Haven residents. Several months ago, I met a patient who was hesitant to schedule her annual physical because after her last physical, she received a surprise $500 bill from her insurance company that she couldn’t afford to pay. I have met several patients who inject less insulin than required to control their diabetes because of skyrocketing insulin prices. During her first week of medical school, my classmate met an undocumented patient born with a congenital heart defect that was curable in infancy. He never received the surgery he needed because his family was uninsured. Now that he’s 30 years old, it’s too late and the treatment is no longer an option — he can either get a heart transplant, which he can’t afford, or die.
Every member of the New Haven community deserves comprehensive health care, including hospital, surgical and outpatient services, primary and preventative care, reproductive, dental, vision and long-term care. Urge your alder to vote in support of the New Haven Medicare for All resolution on Aug. 2.