Maine Letters and Opinion

Both economics, humanity support universal health care

December 27, 2020

“Why should pleading be necessary? … How can we tolerate being so far behind?” Two letters to the editor on the subject of universal healthcare appeared in the Portland Press Herald in mid-December.  Dr. Thomas . . . read more »

COVID-19 proves the need for universal health coverage

September 11, 2020

No other developed country puts its people through what Americans face when they need health care. BY JEFFREY GRAHAM – SPECIAL TO THE PRESS HERALD As a charter member of the Bangor chapter of Maine . . . read more »

COVID exposes inequity of profit-oriented healthcare

August 21, 2020

I am an internist, and served two years in the Epidemic Intelligence Service at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. The 1918 flu pandemic was forgotten when I began doctoring in . . . read more »

American wealth vs. American health

August 19, 2020

Dick Rozek of Portsmouth NH, writes in Seacoast Online: To the Editor: Around 1970 the United States began focusing on the business of medical care rather than on producing and sustaining health. This happened when . . . read more »

We’re all in the same boat, so we must navigate the coronavirus course together

May 29, 2020

This opinion guest column by Senator Geoff Gratwick, was published on May 25, 2020 in the Bangor Daily News. https://bangordailynews.com/2020/05/25/opinion/contributors/were-all-in-the-same-boat-so-we-must-navigate-the-coronavirus-course-together/ “It is springtime in Maine and we are running the Corona River. No one has . . . read more »

COVID-19 and the case for universal healthcare

May 21, 2020

Another Viewpoint: COVID-19 and the case for universal healthcare By Dr. Daniel Bryant The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us much about public health, economics, hygiene, class, race, leadership, and the like. It has also highlighted . . . read more »

More letters to the editor written during the coronavirus pandemic

April 26, 2020

Coronavirus and the health of the body politic A prescient letter by John Buell, published in early March in the MDI Islander:  “Is the United States prepared to deal with a public health emergency? At . . . read more »

Fighting COVID-19 is socialism

April 11, 2020

Socialism, properly applied, benefits society as a whole. A letter to the editor by Tom Waddell of Litchfield, published in the Portland Press Herald on April 11, 2020: For those who oppose socialism but support . . . read more »

Medicare for each of us in the age of the coronavirus

April 11, 2020

The U.S. public—and increasingly the business community—are becoming acutely aware of the rising costs and inadequacies of our current for-profit system, particularly as the current epidemic unfolds. There is no other choice but Medicare for . . . read more »

American Health Care – The Illusion of Choice

March 28, 2020

“Choice” is a major buzzword in current discussions of healthcare. So let’s discuss our actual healthcare choices—as individuals and as a nation, starting with the argument made by politicians, pundits, and media that over 160 . . . read more »