GOP delaying health care reform

Eric Stefik, Las Vegas

Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.

This letter is to comment on the recent bipartisan conference on health care, which points to the differences in political party perception of the need for reform of our health care system.

It was apparent from the beginning that the Republicans have no desire for a quick resolution to the problem of having more than 40 million Americans uninsured for medical needs.

Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee was most loquacious in his plea for more time to “get it right,” comparing current reform proposals to a car needing a recall, and suggesting the problem be approached in smaller pieces. The result of his proposals would be to put reform off to a much later date.

There are plenty of reasons to believe that the real intent is to bow to the health insurance, pharmaceutical and other commercial medical interests that benefit from the current situation, which produces high profits, enables insurers to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions and leaves millions without opportunity for affordable coverage.

The truth is that Republicans have had plenty of time to participate in the dialogue before now, but they have chosen to avoid or obfuscate the issue and its resolution. The cost of having so many uninsured people in the system is not avoided by denying them some form of coverage, be it a public option, an extension of Medicare or a private system that provides coverage regardless of a person’s medical history.

It is fair to say that medical coverage delayed is coverage denied, and that is what we presently have.