I appreciate your recent coverage of my announcement that I'm running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Illinois' 15th Congressional District.

However, while you pointed out that a small tax will be necessary to fund the "Medicare for All" type of national health care that I advocate, you omitted an extremely important fact regarding my plan: It would no longer be necessary for people to pay money to private health insurance companies for premiums and deductibles.

This would result in a substantial net savings for nearly every American citizen.

Many of the elected officials in Washington fail to understand this vital point: When we finally stop handing over 30 percent of our health care dollars to the private health insurance cartel and allow the bulk of that money to be retained by individuals and small businesses, this will provide a tremendous economic stimulus for America.

A recent study sponsored by the California Nurses Association demonstrated that "Medicare for All" will result in a net gain of 2.6 million jobs and a net gain of more than $400 billion in wages and business revenue.

New priorities are needed in Washington, D.C., with an emphasis on people rather than profits.

Dr. David M. Gill, Bloomington