(To Mayor G.T. Bynum)

On October 19, you voiced your concern about the possibility of Covid-19 patients overcrowding Tulsa hospitals.  You said you were giving some thought to “action that you could take” to make sure Tulsans were taken care of.

Mr. Mayor, I don’t believe you have the authority to tell Tulsa hospitals who they can treat and who they cannot.  Those hospitals were built to serve all the people living in this region of the State of Oklahoma – they were not built just for Tulsans.

Should you be concerned about Tulsans?  Absolutely, but thank God you do not have the authority to dictate healthcare services, nor can you direct those services to whomever you choose. 

That’s the kind of “government knows best” thinking that makes people realize that a government-run Single-Payer, or Universal Healthcare System does not serve the best interest of all people.

Government bureaucrats, instead of your family doctor, would be the ones deciding who receives treatment and who does not.  And when the services are “free” to some people, the demand will always exceed the supply.  And that is when certain people begin to receive preferential consideration, and others are neglected.  And unfortunately, that preferential consideration is not always based on their medical condition.  Anytime the government is involved, other factors always enter in; i.e., socio-economic factors, race, age, etc. 

And then the cut-backs and allocation of services begin.

I suggest you rethink your position.