Affordable Care Act isn't perfect, but it's better than gov't-run health care

To The Daily Sun,

In New Hampshire and throughout the country, the conversation surrounding how to fix health care is warranted but lacks real-world perspective. We all want our friends and neighbors to have access to high quality, affordable options. A government run public option or buy-in system might sound appealing but consider this - under some of the new proposed plans New Hampshire could stand to lose $2.5 billion in hospital funding due to far lower reimbursement rates from Medicare. Not to mention, Medicaid; which essentially pays $.30 on the dollar to hospitals, which is bound to cause hospital consolidation and closures. It already is.

As a former ER nurse, I can tell you waste and abuse need to be taken seriously. Anyone who has ever worked in a hospital emergency room understands that people misuse well-intentioned assistance programs, gaming the "system" looking for freebies only to stick the taxpayers with the check.

How would a government health care option affect patients? For starters, it could make existing disparities in health care access much worse. It would be especially troubling for those living in rural areas. We should be finding ways to make it easier for rural families to get the treatment they need – not harder.

Every health care professional knows that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is far from perfect – what government program is? But it strikes a far closer balance between affordability and quality of care than a government option ever could.

Jennifer Nunez

Gilford