Letters to the Editor for March 17, 2010

‘Reform’ bill all about control

This is a letter the writer sent to Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley:

Thank you for your recent letter concerning the pending Health Care Reform Act. For the sake of brevity I will only discuss one portion of the proposal at this time.

The act will require insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions. That means that if someone is ill he must receive the insurance coverage no matter when he applies for it. Pre-existing coverage is an appealing soundbite designed to lull the public. It does not lull me. You don’t have to be a genius to figure out that people that are quite healthy would not need to buy health insurance. Under this proposed act if they get sick they will be able to buy insurance at any time to cover their illness.

To prevent the huge losses that the program would incur from large numbers of people going without coverage you will require that people who decide to remain uninsured will be fined. What do you propose for those who cannot, or will not, pay their fines? After all, many people may take the money that they would ordinarily have budgeted for health care premiums and instead spend it. Prisons are very expensive.

The legislation you are proposing fits with your party’s goal to exercise the greatest amount of control over the largest number of people. Your reform act would be very expenses and proposes to fix a lot of things that don’t really need fixing. The use of the word “reform” when used in this context is an abuse of the English language. Please substitute the word “change,” which was your leader’s favorite campaign term.

Carl Kostol, M.D.

Baker City

Healthcare reform saves money

Health care reform has been stalled even though the President has met with Republicans and has incorporated some Republican and Democratic ideas in his plan. Yet, almost all of the Republicans and some Democrats front for the insurance and pharmaceutical industries and and claim that “healthcare is being rammed down the throats of the people.” It is not that healthcare is being rammed down the throats of the people, but it is true that under the President’s plan, insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies will not have the same unlimited profit prospects.

Some reform points to consider are that insurers will no longer be able to deny coverage due to pre-existing conditions, and people will not be dropped from coverage because they get sick. Roughly 30 million Americans will be added to healthcare coverage. Small business gets a boost in cost containment, too.

Due to efficiency, competing healthcare plans, and a shift in cost from the average taxpayer to the wealthy taxpayer, this plan will actually save our treasury millions of dollars over the next decade, especially if the public option is included.

So, contact Senators Merkley and Wyden and Representative Walden and ask that they work toward comprehensive health care reform.

Bruce Raffety

Baker City