In the Sept. 7 issue of Newsweek, columnist George Will states that "a large majority of Americans have [health] insurance, and a large majority of that majority are content with their care." That got me thinking: Am I content with my health insurance? Well, yes and no.
My wife and I both work, and our employers provide excellent health care plans. We happen to use my employer's plan because it is a little bit better and a little less expensive. If I were to lose my job (my employer routinely lays off fairly large numbers of employees), we could still get health care coverage through my wife's employer. That's a lot to like. We are definitely more fortunate than many other Americans.
However, if my wife were to lose her job too, we would be in a desperate situation. We are not even close to being old enough for Medicare. We both have pre-existing conditions that would make it extremely expensive, if not impossible, to obtain private health insurance. Managing our pre-existing conditions requires tens of thousands of dollars of advanced drugs which we would struggle to pay for without insurance.
This lack of a safety net is one of the reasons health care reform is needed. I don't know how to fix health care, but it is clear to me that problems exist with the status quo.
JOE RUSNAK
Durham
Public option a must
Health care reform without a true public option is the insurance industry's dream. A strong public option which becomes available on day one is the only way to keep the insurance industry's greed in check.
Our member of Congress needs to only support health care reform that has a strong public option. Anything without a public option isn't real reform.
Our member of Congress needs to pledge to vote against bills without a strong public option.
Some in DC say that "triggers" are an acceptable compromise. In reality, a "trigger" is a way to actually kill a public option.
Triggers would only enact a public option if the insurance industry fails to meet standards that their lobbyists will inevitably design. And even then, Congress would have to specifically pass a public option again. It's a rigged game that will never let a public option see the light of day.
CAROLE DUPRE
Chapel Hill
Let prisoners smoke
How can Gov. Beverly Perdue be so cruel to ban tobacco products in our prisons? Does she alone have that power? Don't our lawmakers have any say on this unkindness?
If grown men serving their time can buy a pack of cigarettes or cigars, they should be allowed to smoke in their recreation room evenings.
After all, they've been punished enough, now with cruel Bev's order, it'll be like pouring salt into the wound.
In Russia and all of Europe, inmates may smoke. Wardens agree it calms the men, which in turn helps the guards.
D. STEWART
Pittsboro
