What a healthy society needs

Re “Debate heats up over public healthcare,” May 10

As a fourth-year medical student set to become a family physician in June, I am quite upset to hear President Obama lauding the various corporate players in his health reform game over their “concession” that would save us “trillions” over the next few years.

Clearly, their gift is a last-ditch effort to preserve their own bottom lines and has nothing to do with working toward reform. We need real reform, not public relations stunts. Insurance companies, Big Pharma, HMOs and other corporations have too many seats at the table.

As long as they are the go-to players, we will never have true reform. We need real leadership, which requires that Obama invite consumer healthcare advocates to the table.

If the president cares about our health more than corporate profits and future campaign donations, he must listen to the people best positioned to advise him: physicians and consumers.

Scott Nass

Los Angeles

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Ideas for healthcare reform that do not include “end of life care” are complete poppycock. End-of-life care absorbs a disproportionate share of our healthcare dollars. It includes our most expensive procedures and may well briefly extend an individual’s life, but at what cost? While we are extending a person’s life for a few days, children and adolescents are squeezed out of basic healthcare, placing an entire life at risk.

The economics of healthcare demand that we make decisions regarding how our resources are invested.

Bob Blazek

Bellaire, Ohio

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I’m appalled at Sen. Max Baucas’ “humor” regarding single-payer healthcare.

We need it, and we need it immediately.

How dare these lawmakers, who have great healthcare coverage themselves, keep it from millions of Americans?

Put it on the table and get it done.

Bettye Douglas

Rancho Palos Verdes

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Nobody I know, except for an attorney who works for the healthcare industry, is against single-payer healthcare.

Given this broad interest, why is this approach not being seriously considered?

At the very least, we need a government healthcare plan to measure its value compared with private plans.

It has been the existence of traditional Medicare that has allowed us to know that the inaccurately named Medicare Advantage plans were unnecessarily expensive.

Gary Drucker

Los Angeles

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Re “A vow to cut healthcare spending,” May 11

Obama is allowing the fox to guard the henhouse by trusting that hospitals, insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies will somehow “voluntarily” lower healthcare costs.

Obama is reneging, yet again, on his campaign promises and selling the American public out.

Susan Isaacs

West Hollywood