One of the letters to the editors.






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July 29, 2009 - 12:00 am



I am unemployed and 57 years old. Health insurance is out of my financial reach. It costs less for me to pay out-of-pocket for any necessary doctor's appointments and lab tests than pay insurance premiums. Fortunately, I am able to order medicines from Canada. (By the way, why are drugs made by U.S. drug companies available more cheaply in other countries?)

In other words, I am very much like millions of other middle-aged and vulnerable Americans who cannot afford health insurance, although I may be luckier than most in that I have no chronic illnesses that require hospitalization. Every day I thank my parents for passing on their good genes to me, and every day I keep my fingers crossed that my luck won't run out.

How did the United States, this great country that I love, reach the point where health care is ruled by profits and politics? More specifically, it seems that the insurance companies, drug companies and their lobbyists are dictating access to health care.

To my representatives: Won't you please pay attention to the needs of the citizens you represent and help the president pass his universal health care plan? Please be part of the solution. Help us believe in our government and in our elected officials. Please help dispel the widely held belief that members of Congress are being bought by lobbyists who represent companies that make obscene profits off the nation's health.

In this time of economic crisis, universal, single-payer health care is an idea whose time has come.

YVONNE STAHR

Concord