Fix problems before revamping system

James Prescott is a writer in search of facts. He says that he has "rather extensive experience with socialized medicine" due to his involvement in the military. This is not socialized medicine. Military-provided benefits are like those of any other (albeit large) business. U.S. military benefits in no way mirror those of socialized medicine.

Socialized health care isn't doing a very good job. In many nations employing it, those who can buy private insurance do. Britain's nationalized-practice doctors are among many who are severely overloaded. That always translates to poorer care. Make no mistake: Private health insurance is big business all over the world.

Mr. Prescott also whines that we don't pay taxes on money being "subsidized" for health care. Of course not. It's not income. Such benefits have value, but this is not equivalent to actual salary, with which I can buy things or pay bills.

Furthermore, taxing the cost of these benefits could never be equitable. What one employer lays out for health care is not necessarily equal to what another lays out-even for the exact same coverage from the same company. How would it be right to tax Employee A on $1,000 while taxing Employee B on half that - because it costs Mr. B's employer only $500 per employee for the same coverage? It's simply not right to tax employees on the variable cost of their employer health benefits, especially when they may have the same value.

Some ideas on reform are good, but others, reckless. Before anything can be implemented, we need to remedy several problems - illegal aliens, Medicare, welfare, providers' rush to expensive procedures, cost of medical services, malpractice suits, etc.

What our government is doing by investigating the situation is a good first step, but that's it.

Pat Fuller

Elk Grove Village