Reforms will keep insurers honest

It is clear what will happen if there is no health care reform: Patients will sicken to the point of permanent disability or death, employers and employees will pay to ruination and the costs will go up and up and up some more.

My brother's wife died of cancer not long ago, and much of the last months and days of her life was devoted to fighting her insurance company to do what they had said they would do in their policy. Would she have lived had they shown cooperation? That is something our family will never know, but what is sure is that many of her last days were spent with bureaucrats and midlevel management.

It was and is an appalling, faceless greed. There is no better plan out there. The GOP had years to address this and they only do so now to act as spoilers. This bill must pass.

Thomas McKearn

Arlington Heights