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Friday, Nov. 06, 2009

Nov. 7 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

It’s a mistake to endorse a bill you haven’t read

I read that the AARP is openly supporting the most recent House health care reform bill, and I quote: “AARP applauds the House of Representatives for moving health care reform forward with the introduction of the Affordable Health Care for America Act. In the coming days, AARP will carefully review this comprehensive bill to determine precisely how it will affect the health care of all older Americans.”

I learned long ago not to marry the first girl you kiss and not to buy the first car you drive. In other words, don’t endorse something you haven’t read!

AARP continues to suck up to the liberals. Count me out!

RICK EYMAN

Ocean Springs

Think of public option like federal flood insurance

I fully understand Republican politicians who are well-paid being against a public option in the health care bill. What I cannot comprehend is the thousands in coastal Mississippi who oppose a public option. We learned first-hand the difference between private insurance and public insurance when Hurricane Katrina hit the Coast.

If you did not have flood insurance — the public option for protecting your investment in your home — it was because private insurance sales people did not promote it. Those of us who did have the public option (flood insurance), found ourselves paid up to $250,000 for our lost structure and up to $100,000 for our lost contents. Meanwhile, the private insurers who asked for huge premiums before Katrina did everything possible not to pay and paid very slowly.

This is exactly what you should expect from private health care insurance. The government-run option will tend to pay for medical problems and will tend not to try to cheat you out of your coverage. If you have a problem with a government option, you can call Gene Taylor’s office — even though he is opposed to the option at this time. If the option passes, he will be our representative any time something does go wrong with the insurance. He is opposed because he believes the majority in his district is opposed and I fear he is correctly understanding his constituents’ preference. Unfortunately, any constituent against the public option is denying the health care equivalent of flood insurance to those of us who can’t get health insurance that works any other way.

Please consider calling Gene Taylor’s office and asking him to support a public option in the health care bill being worked on at this time. Do it for those of us who are losing thousands in premiums and getting little or nothing for that money from unscrupulous insurance companies and risk pools.