Letters and comments for November 6, 2009

Change current system 

To the Editor:

I was under the impression that the intent of health care reform was to assure all Americans had health care that was more accessible, more affordable and of higher quality. Much of that could be accomplished by making changes to the current system. We need tort reform to reduce doctor and hospital costs, allow insurance companies to provide basic no-frills plans, allow them to sell anywhere in the country and allow health savings accounts. We could also do far more, individually, to prevent illness.

While we will probably not know what actually ends up in any health care bill until after it is passed, there are a lot of things we know are being proposed. I am not aware of anything in any of the Democrat proposals that will cut costs or improve care. There are taxes on individuals who purchase insurance, individuals who do not purchase insurance and on millions of small businesses as well as on medical technology. There is a huge Medicaid expansion (which is already

$38 trillion in debt) that will increase the financial burden on states. One version even adds at least 111 new federal bureaucracies. There are many more mandates and taxes proposed in the current bills. The tax increases would be immediate, but the “benefits” would not start until at least 2012.

Instead of trying to repair a broken system, we are expanding on that broken system. In reality, I believe this is not about cutting costs, or even about “health care.” It is about the government having more control over our lives. Remember, we are the boss of the government.

They are not our boss, although they seem to think they are.

Mark Barber

La Grande