Sun Journal op-ed by Dr. Nancy Cummings '81 touts 'fairer' way to pay for healthcare

Writing in the Sun Journal about national health-care legislation, Dr. Nancy Madsen Cummings ’81 suggests that while “no one likes more taxes and fees,” U.S. citizens already pay a variety of hidden fees related to medical care, “to pay for those who pay nothing, and to make up the shortfall because Medicaid and Medicare don’t pay the full cost of care they purchase on behalf of their enrollees.” Cummings, a Bates biology major, orthopedic surgeon in Farmington and chair of the Maine Medical Association’s executive committee, argues that raising new revenues to “subsidize coverage for those who cannot afford its full cost, and requiring the purchase of such insurance, is a fairer and more rational way to pay for care.” View story from the Sun Journal, Jan. 28, 2010.