St. Louis Labor Council Retirees hosting ‘Medicare for All’ event July 16 at Machinists District 9 Hall

Dr. Ed Weisbart to explain proposed solution to national healthcare crisis

Dr. Ed Weisbart, a St. Louis family medicine physician and chairman of the Missouri chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program, will discuss “Medicare for All: What Is It, Really?” at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 16, at the IAM District 9 Machinists Building, 12365 St. Charles Rock Rd., Bridgeton.

The event is sponsored by the Greater St. Louis Labor Council Retirees Group. A free lunch will be served.

SINGLE-PAYER SYSTEM
Weisbart will make the case for a single-payer healthcare system made possible by the expansion of the current Medicare national health insurance program that would cover all Americans.

Most leading candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination have endorsed the concept of “Medicare for All,” but they don’t all have the same plan in mind.

Weisbart will discuss what “Medicare for All” means and help attendees understand the differences in the various plans so they can be better informed voters.

Medicare is an efficient healthcare financing system, but it is mainly limited to those aged 65 and older.

“Medicare for All” would cover all Americans of all ages, eliminate all copays and deductibles, allow free choice of doctors and hospitals and improve benefits so all Americans would have access to dentistry, optometry, hearing aids and more.

In a broad sense, “Medicare for All” calls for restructuring the current patchwork of private insurance that is both inefficient and expensive.

LOWER HEALTHCARE COSTS
The redirection of premium dollars now paid by individuals and employers to private insurance companies, Weisbart explains, would bring down healthcare costs by as much as one-third, thus freeing up funds needed to add essential services such as dentistry, optometry and hearing aids, while eliminating all copays and deductibles.

The U.S. is the only industrialized nation in the entire world without some form of universal healthcare.

“As a proud American, I know the United States can do at least as well as the rest of the world,” Weisbart said. “Better, really.”

PLAN TO ATTEND
Plan on attending this informative event Tuesday, July 16, at the Machinists Hall — and bring your friends, families and fellow union members.

Make reservations by calling Ron Gushleff at 314-962-4128; Dave Meinell at 314-604-1316; Calvin Davis at 314-488-0339, or Patricia Laughlin at 314-781-8382.

For information on the Missouri chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program, go to pnhpMO.org.