Extend Medicare

EDITOR:

Who do you want to make decisions about your health care: (1) A business person who is out to make a profit on your illness (motivated by bonuses and stock options to deny or ration your coverage and reduce payments to doctors and hospitals), or (2) a well-paid and educated government employee who is motivated to make sure you get the medical coverage you are entitled to, and the huge buying power to negotiate low rates?

The people who see socialism vs. capitalism as black or white, always good or always bad, are over simplifying things. There are gray areas where services or programs are either too expensive and/or critical to life and safety to be run by profit-driven private enterprise. Do you think private enterprise could or should be in charge of the military, police, fire departments, highways/roads, sewers, Medicare, NASA/space program, state universities, monitoring our food, drug, and water supplies, dams, public schools, air traffic control system, etc.? These are government-run programs (socialistic) that serve us well!

Health care is too important to leave solely to profit-driven private enterprise since health is not only a benefit to the individual, but to society as a whole. My good health makes you better off. Healthier societies are wealthier because they take advantage of more of their human potential. If you have been to a Third World country, you know the free market alone can't provide clean water and sewage systems.

I have had much fewer problems with the Medicare coverage I have had for the last six years than the secondary private insurance coverage during this time, so I think the simplest way to provide a public healthcare option would be to extend a Medicare option to everyone, and require that everyone pay the very reasonable premium (mine is $96 per month) and payroll deduction. Everyone must be required to be covered by either public or private insurance to spread the risk and avoid those who don't buy insurance because they are either young or in good health and know they will become wards of the state once medical costs overwhelm them.

If you agree that a public health insurance option is worth investigating (you are not required to buy it), call your federal representatives Rep. Dean Heller at (775) 686-5760, Sen. John Ensign at (877) 894-7711 or Sen. Harry Reid at (866) 736-7343 and tell them you are one of their constituents and that your want the option of being able to get government-run Medicare type health insurance.

Lee Johnson

Gardnerville