Health care debate is about who pays

Let us please deal with reality. The issue is not about health care access. Everyone has that. The issue is about who's paying for it. Health insurance or not. Virtually everyone who is over 65 years old has some form of coverage, Medicare plus possibly supplemental.

Based upon current data of the approximately 300 million people in the U.S. only 42 million do not have some form of health care insurance, 14 percent. On those, 12 million are illegal aliens, 20 million are by choice not wanting to purchase health care, as either by age or lifestyle prefer to pay as they go. The balance, approximately 10 million people want but can't get health care insurance either because of cost or due to pre-exsistng conditions. That's 7.5 percent of the population.

The house bill HB 3200, as proposed, would completely overhaul the current system to satisfy 7.5 percent of the citizens at the expense of 92.5 percent of citizens, not just in real costs but in terms of control of their own life. Another $1 trillion in debt is also projected.

The bill not only doesn't address one of the largest cost issues (liability) through tort reform but doesn't even attempt to use the available system in place, namely Medicaid. Instead it will create an entirely new beauracy in Washington.

What has been proposed is shameful. Only two things need to be done to provide coverage and reduce costs: pass meaningful tort reform on medical professions and organizations, and expand Medicaid to cover those citizens who due to pre-exsisting conditions or cost cannot afford health care with a premium based on income.

Richard C. Francke

Bartlett