Privatization of health care would be a nightmare

Health care in the United States certainly isn’t perfect. But as a retired Montana physician, I know that Tim Sheehy’s plan for the “pure privatization” of our health care system will only make things worse. 

I couldn’t believe it when I heard the audio of Sheehy at a campaign event, saying: “In my opinion, we need to return health care to pure privatization.” As a retired doctor, it was shocking to me that someone who wants to be our U.S. senator would advocate for something so bad for patients.

What would “pure privatization” of our health care system actually look like for Montanans? 

Resources yanked from rural hospitals, potentially shuttering them across the state. The end of Medicare. Rolling back price caps on prescription drugs. And overturning the Affordable Care Act, leaving Montanans with pre-existing conditions without crucial protections for their health care.

Eliminating Medicare and Medicaid would cost patients thousands of dollars, making it next to impossible for them to pay for the services they need. Medicare and Medicaid are especially critical for low income and senior patients to be able to afford their health care. 

So many Montanans have paid into Medicare their entire lives, and now Sheehy wants to take that all away from them. I wouldn’t want to look seniors in the eyes and tell them they have to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket for an easy and quick procedure that Medicare would have covered. I wouldn’t want to tell them their insulin would now cost them hundreds of dollars a month when it used to be protected and capped at $35.

With fully private health care, Montanans relying on Medicaid, including thousands of children, would be stuck paying the full cost of doctor’s visits, treatment and prescriptions. Medicaid is vital for hard working Montana families to be able to afford annual check ups for their kids. Without Medicaid, too many families in Montana will go without any health care. Our kids can only succeed if they are healthy, and Sheehy’s plan would jeopardize access to health care for families across our state.

Sheehy’s plan would be especially burdensome for folks living in rural communities. If Sheehy got his way and everything was privatized, rural hospitals would get shut down and Montanans in rural areas would have to drive even farther to reach a hospital. Access to health care in rural Montana can be the difference between life and death. People shouldn’t have to live in a city to have access to affordable and quality medical care.

It’s obvious to me that a multimillionaire like Sheehy doesn’t understand what health care costs and he doesn’t know the first thing about what is best for Montanans’ health care. No one should have to decide between a life-saving surgery and being able to pay the bill afterward — Sheehy’s plan would make this nightmare a reality. That’s not what I would want for my state and its citizens.

Dr. David Lehnherr is a retired physician from Red Lodge.