Letters - Sept. 17, 2009

Some time

Congressman Joe Wilson’s (R from South Carolina) outburst “You Lie” during President Obama’s address to Congress Sept 9th was understandable. The Republicans were tuned in to their former president, George Bush, who seldom answered a question or made a statement that wasn’t a lie.

They expect the president to lie. However, they will have to get used to the upstanding, dedicated to the truth, and honest president that now graces the White House. It may take some time.

Joan Harris,

Pullman

Health care

Regarding Adele Ferguson’s recent editorial on health care:

Her concerns about undue haste are somewhat misplaced; reforms of health care to improve access go back at least as far as the Truman Administration.

She asserts that “No American ...

is without health care...” because of the nation’s hospital emergency rooms.

Her statement is false.

A wealth of medical research finds that millions of Americans are going without needed health care.

Although the nation’s emergency rooms provide significant care to uninsured people, emergency rooms are not suitable for many types of medical care.

Moreover, emergency rooms charge for the services they provide, and patients who cannot pay their bills risk being turned over to collection agencies and having their credit ratings erode.

The latter can make getting a job, apartment, or loan more difficult.

Many hospitals no longer have emergency rooms, and non-emergency patients must typically wait until emergency cases have been taken care of and risk multiple interruptions as new emergency cases arrive.

Moreover, most emergency rooms are only required to stabilize patients, not to provide complete care,

Her remark about a so-called “death committee” is also false. None of the major health care proposals this year included anything of the sort.

Her efforts to minimize the number of uninsured also fall short. Many of the people who are eligible for Medicaid or SCHIPS are not enrolled because of the actions of state and local administrators who conceal eligibility from some people and discourage enrollment in a variety of ways. The exclusion of 18 to 34 year olds because they “are young and healthy” reflects jumping to conclusions on an impressive scale. Many young people become ill each year, more are injured in accidents, and many more become pregnant. Many of them also work in entry-level jobs without health insurance. On average, the uninsured are less healthy than other Americans but received less health care.

The estimate of 46 million uninsured may even be an understatement because it omits the partially uninsured, particularly people with preexisting health problems that are excluded from coverage and people with catastrophic care insurance, which may require thousands of dollars in patient spending before the policy pays anything. Moreover, most people who have health insurance receive it as a fringe benefit from their jobs. The loss of a job often means the loss of insurance, too.

Recent studies of bankruptcies find that a major accident or illness is a major cause (but not necessarily the only cause) of at least half of all bankruptcies.

Regarding her parting comments about prison health care: the quality of health care in U S. prisons varies greatly from place to place. No one in his or her right mind would choose the quality of care found in some prisons.

David Nice,

Pullman

Endorses Hailey

During this primary election, my family and I enjoyed the opportunity to meet citizens of the 9th district and learn about their communities, participate in thier parades and talk with them about the issues facing us. It was a good experience, even if I didn’t make it to the general election.

I have been asked by both candidates for my endorsement for the November ballot. As I said during the voter’s forum in Pullman, I would endorse the candidate whose values were closest to my own and whose skill set I believed best fit the needs of the 9th district and our families.

After much consideration, I have chosen to endorse Pat Hailey. Pat has a good combination of skills including serving our schools, operating a farm and knowledge of how Olympia works.

Pat’s experience working in our schools for 10 years and later serving as an elected official on North Franklin District’s School Board is important for our children. She understands the challenges facing our schools and has worked to fix problems and improve the education our children receive each day.

Pat lives and works on a farm. Again, she understands the challenges we as farmers face. Day to day she has to deal with the same issues we do-taxes, regulations, inspections and issues such as water rights- all of which can make or break each of our farms. I know she will be looking out for us in Olympia.

Pat also lived as a military wife during her first years of marriage to Steve. With our commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the injuries many of our brave men and women have received, we need to honor them by fulfilling our obligation to provide for their care. I know Pat will always look out for our veterans, their wives and their children. They have taken care of us, and we must take care of them.

For these reasons and many more, including Pat’s strong set of Christian values, I have chosen to endorse Pat and help her in her campaign. I hope those of you who voted for me and value what I value will choose to support Pat and also vote for her during this upcoming general election. I believe she is the right choice for District 9.

Art Swannack,

Lamont