Congress must take time on health care

There is no question about the need, it is the cost and cost control of health insurance that is the problem. The United States has a good system for those who now have coverage. Ask a Canadian who comes here to avoid months of delay for treatment in Canada.

Other problems include coverage for the millions of unemployed persons, the immigrants, and those unable to afford the skyrocketing premium costs.

Any health plan starts with common sense eating habits, exercise (walk, forget the elevators), quit smoking and drugs, obesity, etc. Some folks don't use common sense and some do not want to learn.

Government has proved to be inefficient. A bureaucratic payroll starts and grows, never seems to shrink. The veterans (hero insurance) is so complex that the VA assists people to fill out the forms. Thank you Steve Schaefer, the VFW post 2992, and others who give so much help to the vets.

Billions of dollars (3 percent of budget) are lost to fraud each year and yet less than 1/5 of 1 percent of the budget is allocated for monitoring and fraud protection. Hospitals cannot turn away anyone with or without legitimate complaints and spend millions defending lawsuits. If medical costs are high now, imagine what it will cost the taxpayers when it is "free"?

This is a huge and complex problem and action is needed as soon as possible, but to rush it through without debate and compromise first seems to over simplify the situation. Do not ram its passage through without hearing from all sides. Congress should forget politics and their next election and do its job. The legislators have to work together, discuss, review and agree on an agreeable solution. If they cannot do this there's a bumper sticker somewhere out there that says "save America, deport Congress"

William McNutt

Des Plaines