Our health system has bad foundation

We pay about twice as much per person for our health care and yet die younger and lose more children through infant mortality than citizens in the other industrialized countries.

The Republicans say, "Don't try to reform our system, it will only get worse." This makes no sense. We are not dumber than the Canadians, the Brits or the French, and we do not have more scoundrels per 1,000 citizens than these other countries. We have a design problem.

The overriding goal of our current delivery system is not health for the many, it is wealth for the few.

The rules inherent to our problem are inherent in our system - charge as much as the market will bear and spend as little as possible on the delivery of health care.

We learned these rules in high school economics. Until we fix this flaw, we are guaranteed to see our medical care bills grow faster than inflation, our public health continue to lag behind these other countries, and our economy flounder. A great shame in so many ways.

Alfred Y. Kirkland Jr.

Elgin