Health care shows division between parties

Republicans vs. Democrats. We have recently seen an ad comparing the two in a way that showed deep bias but little reality. We only have to take one topic to see the sad divisions between the two parties: health care.

In the United States, we pay the highest prices for health care of any developed country and get the worst outcomes of all the countries. We have higher infant mortality and maternal death than other countries. The prices are so high that most people cannot afford to go to the doctor and die from problems that would be taken care of in European countries. When people go bankrupt it is often their medical bill which is responsible. We pay more for administrative costs than they do in other countries.

In an effort to address the costs of health care for people in the United States, President Barack Obama tried to get cooperation from the Republicans in Congress by using a plan that came from a Republican source rather than a plan that most Democrats preferred. He modeled it on Mitt Romney’s plan hoping that the Republican Congress people would understand that the problem exists and work with him to solve it. Alas it was not to be. They were more interested in making sure that Obama never got a win than in giving the people of the country a way to pay for the terrible costs of our health care system.

Now they are talking about doing away with the only program that helps poor people — Medicare — to pay for tax cuts for their filthy rich friends and contributors.

Having access to good health care is a right we should all expect — the members of Congress have a gold plated plan for their health care that you and I pay for. Actually a good system would save all of us money and help businesses because their employees would be better workers.

It’s time to get real about the cost of medicine in this country, repair the deficiencies in the Affordable Care Act, and help everyone have better health.

Sincerely yours,

—Eileen Carney,

Libby