To the editor:

Slavery and prostitution use human bodies as commodities. These businesses seek profits from human bodies regardless of any pain, abuse or death inflicted. For-profit health insurance uses the setting for disease and injury, our bodies, as a commodity through which to profit by systematically denying and excluding care, regardless of any pain, abuse or death which results. We fund for-profit health insurance. Part of the money we pay goes toward denying fellow citizens health care. Would we condone pain and suffering inflicted on our neighbor in broad daylight? Should we accept pain and suffering inflicted on our neighbor behind heavy corporate doors? Unless you are one of the 30 percent of Americans who have government health insurance, you have no choice for coverage but wasteful, immoral for-profit health insurance.

In reality, as in our Declaration of Independence, life comes before liberty. Now, as then, we need to guard against tyranny. Our bodies are not toasters. Medicare uses 3 to 5 percent for overhead. For-profit health insurance uses 25 to 31 percent. The director of Medicare’s salary is in the range of $150,000. The average health insurance executive salary (excluding compensations) is $7.5 million.

HR676 offers a strengthened Medicare for All and is a short bill to read. HR676 covers all citizens and saves billions of dollars every year. This bill will be voted on as the Weiner Amendment to HR3200 soon. The Kucinich Amendment would allow states to choose not-for-profit health insurance. Health care dollars could strengthen and unite our citizens instead of weakening and dividing them.