Health Care (debate?)

The following letter to the editor appeared in the Aug 12 edition of The Brazosport Facts:

Health insurance company stooges disrupting town halls

If you think health care is a mess, just look at the Republican Party. Once again, they are showing themselves to be the party of “No.”

Instead of producing a workable insurance plan, they are following the mandates of their de facto leaders — Fox News, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh — and trying to stop any meaningful progress toward insuring all Americans. Remember, we are the only industrialized nation that doesn’t guarantee health care for all its people. Those who are working as stooges for the insurance companies and disrupting town hall meetings are doing the immoral work of these corporations.

If you don’t like government-run medicine, then drop out of the Veterans Administration system and let the government know you and all your family won’t be using Medicare. Better yet, do the right thing and support the effort to make this a better country.

Quit listening to the rumors and falsehoods being spread. The right kind of change, the kind President Barack Obama is trying to achieve, will be good for all of us.

Sam Davis, Pearland

Here is my reply - as yet unpublished:

Once again a Democrat party hack, this time the precinct 76 chairman, spouts the party line talking points. Instead of advancing logical reasons supporting the proposed health care legislation, he calls those opposed stooges. Such inflammatory language does little to promote genuine dialog. He makes the outrageous claim that this is the only industrial country that does not guarantee health care for its entire people. Au contraire! Health care is not guaranteed but is indeed rationed in both Great Britain and Canada. I suggest he check out the “complete life” system of providing health care.

Health care is not a zero sum game. Access to health care will improve by training more health care workers and expanding medical facilities. Reasonable tort reform and insurance regulations will help reduce costs. Access can also be improved by innovative thinking such as providing low cost clinics to provide non-emergency care. One possibility for rural areas is to augment hospital environs with assisted living quarters and outpatient care. Rural areas would also be well served by improved patient transport.

Let the discourse begin and the hyperbole cease.