Letter to the Editor for February 20

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Letter to the Editor for February 20

Opinions

Saturday, 20 February 2010 01:55

Everyone’s issue
To the editor:
Your columnist, Mr. Ross Mackenzie, proves he is not a faux intellectual by quoting Montes-quieu, so he must be the real deal. His rant on health care, however, is riddled with misleading claims.
For instance, he ignores the fact that the Congressional Budget Office, known for impartiality, says the Senate health care bill will reduce our budget deficit over the next 10 years.
I have some observations regarding health care that I hope Mr. Mackenzie will consider, although I am not optimistic that he will. The misleading drivel that Mr. Mackenzie peddles is indicative of a closed mind.
The Central Intelligence Agency has a Web site (World Factbook) that maintains statistics by country, including statistics regarding mortality and deaths at birth. Health care professionals say that average life span and deaths at birth are excellent indicators of a country’s health care system.
The statistics published by the CIA indicate that the health
care system in the United States is failing.
People live longer in 49 countries than they do in the United States. They live longer in all developed countries, including such countries as Bermuda, Jordan and Macau.
Babies have a better chance of living in 44 countries than they do in the United States. They live longer in all developed countries. They have a better chance of living in Cuba, Malta and Singapore than they do in the United States.
These statistics are shameful and should be a part of any meaningful debate regarding health care in the United States.
I have a friend who is a pastor at a local church. His doctor told him he had to have open-heart surgery; however, he did not have health insurance.
He flew to Germany and had open-heart surgery for $10,000 – this would have cost $100,000 or more in the United States. Essential drugs can be bought in all developed countries for a fraction of what they cost in the United States, yet U.S. residents are barred from buying drugs elsewhere. Why is this? Could it be because drug companies routinely block this access through their friends in Congress?
Health care should not be a conservative or liberal issue – it is an issue that should be of concern to everyone. It is amazing, however, how trickle-down politics have clouded this issue. I have a friend who has a large family and no health insurance – he cannot afford it on his salary. He drags himself and his family to the emergency room when he needs health care, yet he lectures me on “socialism” and “ObamaCare” — he doesn’t want the government meddling in his health care.
He uses some of the same words and phrases that Mr. Mackenzie uses, so I believe these are trickling down from the same place.
The one thing that does not trickle down, however, is the money insurance companies and others are spending to spread lies and misinformation about health care reform. Most of that has lodged in Congress.
George R. Gibson
St. Cloud