Some concerns about public plan baseless

Joel Rector, North Las Vegas

Monday, Aug. 31, 2009 | 2:02 a.m.

In response to Patricia Hershwitzky’s Sunday letter to the editor headlined “Government care strips our freedom”:

First, she states that abortion has become “virtually an internationally publicly funded ‘health care’ mandate.” The fact is that in the United States, the Hyde Amendment, passed in 1977, prohibits use of federal funding for abortion (except when necessary to save a woman’s life).

Second, she says we have been “falsely assured” concerning Social Security. I wonder whether those who have been receiving their checks every month without fail and rely on that government-run program would agree.

Next, Ms. Hershwitzky says we should “fiercely contest” a plan that would ration and coldly calculate the worth of a human being. Isn’t that what insurance companies do now? Who makes the decisions on whether to cover a claim or deny it? Is it a doctor or a company accountant referring to actuary tables, basing decisions on statistics?

And what of those with preexisting conditions? What cold calculation is used to deny these hard working Americans coverage they so desperately need?

The fact is that in 2007, about 62 percent of all bankruptcies were due to health care costs, and 80 percent of people in these cases had health insurance. Does this make sense?

I do agree with her on one issue. That is that stating something repeatedly as fact won’t make it true.

Cases in point are the hysterical rants about “death panels” by ex-Gov. Sarah Palin, “pulling the plug on grandma” by Sen. Charles Grassley, and U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner’s claim that health care reform will result in “promoting euthanasia.”

We, as a nation, must put aside the scare tactics and rhetoric. We must have a serious discussion about the future of health care: costs, services and implementation. It only makes sense.