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To the Editor:
My husband, a Vietnam veteran, was diagnosed with Follicular Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma about two and a half years ago.  Because of the medical services he received at Mountain Home VA in Johnson City (even during Covid-19), he is in remission with just one more maintenance chemo treatment next month.  We have been twice blessed with his life saving treatments and with almost no medical expenses for excellent service.  
Our veterans have a chance to experience a government funded system that is life affirming.  However, our country is experiencing a health care crisis for the rest of the population who is not in the high- income category. With the significant rise in Covid-19 cases in our area, I am concerned with the many survivors who are at risk of severe Covid-19 related illness and are un- or underinsured.  It is past time to have conversations with our neighbors about our inadequate health care system in our country that disregards our rural friends and hospitals, and we need to insist that our legislators address these problems by planning for everyone to have the peace of mind that comes with good health coverage. 
According to The Lancet, May 30, 2020, the U.S. stands alone as the only high-income country not to provide health care that saves money by early efficient treatments like Mountain Home does with my husband. The U.S. is also the only high-income country that leaves almost 80 million of its citizens without adequate insurance. This practice disregards the sanctity of life. Having quality health care for the entire country (like my husband has) would save 68,000 lives and 1.73 million life-years annually. Our patriotic goal should be to have the best healthcare in the world. We should not die younger than we have to. 
A Single Payer health system would be a solution to these problems and would do the following: (1) save money for other things you want and/or need; (2) allow you to see any doctor you want; (3) provide the opportunity to live longer and healthier; (4) avoid wasteful bureaucracy with insurance companies; and (5) avoid draining business resources through excessive insurance administration that weakens the United States.  Single payer is different from socialized medicine in that the doctors are still independent and privately employed.  However, the government would pay their bills.

Dr. Norma Morrison, Ed.D.,
Member of the NE TN Chapter 
Physicians for a National Health Program