Fix small problems before big overhaul

If the government takes over health care, it would be a disaster. First, the people who work for Medicare have to be better trained.

Example one: I had a pain in my foot about a year ago. After a few days it got worse and I went to the doctor. He took X-rays and told me I had a small stress fracture. He then prescribed a boot that you should wear for a month. The fracture would heal itself.

When the copy of the bill came from Medicare, there was a charge for an office visit, and an X-ray, no problem. There was also a charge for surgery about $238, as I recall. The doctor never touched me.

After getting the runaround from the doctors office, I called Medicare and explained the problem. The lady who answered said she would check it out. She returned shortly and said "all the right papers are filled out." I then asked to speak to her supervisor. The same results came about, even though I repeated several time that the doctor had never touched me.

If this is an example of government health care supervision, we would be in big trouble with health care reform.

Eugene Gregory

Lake Zurich