Lawmakers must do more to provide the healthcare facilities that NC needs

Healthcare market

Regarding “Certificate of need law faces legal challenge,” (March 26):

North Carolina’s certificate of need law needs to be struck down or repealed. The New Bern doctor who is challenging this law is correct — it has increased, not decreased, healthcare costs.

Our politicians are quick to offer incentives to bring more people to this area, but they are not so quick to ensure that the necessary infrastructure, including healthcare facilities, is in place for these new arrivals. A basic premise of economics is that a restricted supply increases costs.

Alan Tharp, Raleigh

Tillis and Burr

Sen. Thom Tillis’ reasons for not voting to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court are specious.

With no supporting evidence, he claims she would be an “activist” jurist. Yet, Tillis and other Republicans have been pushing members of the judiciary for decades to overturn established precedent confirming basic, personal constitutional rights such as access to birth control and whom one can marry.

Tillis also faults Jackson for not having an opinion about expanding the court, despite the fact that the judiciary has no power whatsoever over how many members the Supreme Court has.

Jackson’s qualifications, credentials and temperament are beyond reproach, yet both my elected officials, Tillis and Sen. Richard Burr, will vote against her confirmation. They should be ashamed.

Lynn Andrews, Durham

US senators

A March 31 Forum writer asked of U.S. senators “Why are you there?” After reading his letter and spending much of last week watching Judge Jackson’s confirmation hearing, I have figured out the answer.

Much like a club or athletic team, senators are socially enmeshed. They remind me of the activity groups at the high school where I taught. This was evident after the hearing in their many “high fives,” hugs and greetings with other members.

To be excluded from the “group” would be devastating. Therefore, some senators run again and again with little thought to the good of their constituents or the country.

Celia S. Kiffor, Apex

Clarence Thomas

It is inconceivable that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was not aware of his “best friend’s” actions and intent. If he was so ignorant, he should not be on the Supreme Court. Either way, he must recuse himself from all 2020 election cases to allow the court to regain a modicum of respectability.

Tony Quartararo, Raleigh

US militarism

Flags across North Carolina flew at half-staff last week after the death of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve as our nation’s top diplomat

What I remember most about her was her response in 1996 when asked about the more than a half-million Iraqi children who died as a result of U.S. sanctions. Albright was asked: “Was it worth it?” She answered: “I think this is a very hard choice, but the price, we think the price is worth it.”

We later learned that our war on Iraq was based on the lie of “weapons of mass destruction.”

As a woman, I am deeply ashamed that our nation venerates women capable of such callous disregard for human life. Has this nation’s militarism made us totally indifferent to the suffering of others? Should not the compassion shown for the victims of the war in Ukraine extend to victims of wars of our nation’s own making?

Vicki Ryder, Durham

Choose Home Act

The writer has worked in health care reform for 35 years.

The Choose Home Care Act , co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, provides seniors the choice to recover after a hospitalization in the place they prefer most — home.

Choose Home would establish a cost-effective, patient-centered program under Medicare’s home health benefit, allowing more N.C. seniors to recover in their homes after being discharged.

This bipartisan legislation would also provide support, training and education for family caregivers, as well as add-on payments for additional services, such as continuous remote patient monitoring, meals and some transportation.

It creates a win-win-win for patients, Medicare providers, and the Medicare program. It provides greater patient choice, reduces costs, and modernizes the Medicare home health benefit.

With only one N.C. lawmaker on this bill, our state’s leaders must do better. I strongly urge the entire N.C. delegation to support Choose Home.

Deborah Hoyt, Buxton

Duke and solar

Duke Energy is proposing changes to net metering, which allows homes with solar panels to send excess electricity they produce to the grid, thus providing a cheap, clean source of energy. It also allows these homes to “bank” extra electricity for months when they don’t produce enough. Unfortunately Duke is proposing disincentives to this arrangement.

We need an electrical power company that will encourage people to install solar panels. This will provide more jobs for solar installers and help mitigate the effects of climate change.

Future generations deserve a cleaner world that will have fewer weather conditions, such as tornadoes and hurricanes, and also stem rising sea levels.

Bill Dolbow, Durham

This story was originally published April 1, 2022 at 1:55 PM with the headline "Lawmakers must do more to provide the healthcare facilities that NC needs."