To the editor:
The Affordable Care Act is unpopular with many folks. But if you ask folks about its main provisions there is great support for them.
• The national rate of uninsured citizens has never been lower.
• You cannot be refused insurance based on pre-existing conditions.
• Women cannot be charged more than men.
• There can no longer be lifetime limits on the amount an insurance company pays out.
• You can keep a child on a policy until they are 26.
Stop and think how important these provisions are to folks that have been underinsured or refused service in the past.
“Make America Great Again” I am not clear on what era that slogan refers to. But if we are to be great it seems to me all Americans should have access to healthcare. We are the only developed nation that does not make sure all our citizens have coverage. Lots of hardworking folks cannot afford coverage without help.
If we are going to be great we have to craft better policies, not go backwards. The biggest gripes about the ACA seem to be cost related. Healthcare costs began skyrocketing long before the ACA was implemented. If we are to repeal/replace, or as Mr. Trump has started saying, “or amend” the healthcare law, cost is a great place to start. Our system has protected the insurance companies’ role and its profits. If saving money is important to us we should consider taking insurance companies out of the equation. All of the developed countries that have done this have higher quality healthcare than us at a much lower cost. Also our Medicare system takes care of our seniors with very low operating costs. Don’t take my word for this! I encourage you to study the facts.
We will become greater by working together to solve our problems. We would not have had rural electrification if it were not for a non-profit partnership between government and the people. It also makes sense to operate healthcare in a non-profit setting. Health is our greatest commodity, some folks will die without access to healthcare, others go bankrupt. Being great means improving. I am looking forward to a national conversation regarding good ideas about improving our health system. I don’t think bumping millions off of their insurance is a good place to start.
TOM ROWLEY, WILLOW SPRINGS
To the editor:
It is outrageous that President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday, Dec. 23, made the final decision to abstain from voting on a United Nations Security Council vote that demands that Isreal halt construction in the West Bank and in eastern Jerusalem.
What? Their vote to abstain is a “no” vote. Obama and Kerry have lined up with the 14 “no” votes in the UN council and commonly refer to the area in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem as Palestinian territories.
Wrong Someone needs to give this group a history lesson. In 1988, Jordan officially renounced claims to that territory. Furthermore, the Palestinians have never had a state in either the West Bank or in eastern Jerusalem. Consequently, the Palestinians are not the authority there.
“This is a back stabbing of Isreal by our POTUS and government never seen before,” a quote from Alan Dershowitz, a famous and highly respected Democrat who services as attorney, scholar, author and Harvard Law professor emeritus. He is right, and we need to understand this issue for what it really is.
Some of us have been saying for years that our country should stop funding the United Nations with tax payer dollars and give them the boot. Now, we have the profound impetus to do so. It is high time for our Congress to vote to stop UN funding and ask this group to go elsewhere to set up shop.
It is also critical for us to remember how the Lord God refers to Isreal in Zechariah 2:8 — The apple of His eye. We are reminded in the Old Testament that nations who narrow-minded thinking but it will stand longer than any king, dictator, president or secretary will stand. Isaiah 40:8 says so.
PASTOR TERRY BROWN, MANESS MEMORIAL CHURCH, CABOOL