The health care debate

Dear Editor:

Don't we already have nationalized health care?

Some compelling reasons for supporting nationalized health care truly start with how you define profit, greed and corruption. I support our for-profit, free-market system in all areas except for health care and medicine. Yes, all who are associated with the industry deserve to make a good living. If you are compelled to become a doctor or a nurse it should be because you want to help people as your primary reason.

If you added up all the people who are already on our nationalized health care system I think we would all be astonished. If you are a taxpayer you may not be able to afford health care but you are paying for the health care of the following:

All senators, congressmen and their staff. All federal employees, all military and veterans, all state employees, all county employees and all city and town employees. You also must include most of the above who have retired through these careers. Then you have to add in Medicare, Medicaid, S chip and the prescription drug plan.

Let's not forget our prisoners and illegal aliens who are crowding your emergency room. What about our defense contractors and other industries that provide services and products primarily for the above mentioned — you might as well include them. I am sure I have forgotten many, many more. Most of these people are good people providing essential services and most are paying their taxes.

We also have to keep in mind that many of our tax paid for institutions have to get their insurance through “for profit” insurance companies. So what if we just cut the profit and greed out of the system? What could we do with all of that extra dough? Well, for starters we could provide health care for some of the people you really care about who can't afford to spend most of their income on high deductible health insurance scams. So before you call yourself a practicing Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu or just plain old good person you better double check your soul to see how you define who deserves to see a doctor or get medicine and who doesn't. You should also ask yourself, is the person who is preaching in support of “for-profit” health care truly on your side about anything?

Brad Larson

Basalt