Letters: No, Republicans don’t want to kill grandma
Re “Obamacare as political theater,” Opinion, Sept. 26
Marilyn Moon confuses two distinct aspects of social programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security: purpose and performance.
She is correct that voters strongly support the goals of these programs. The elderly and the poor need access to health insurance, and some people need retirement support. What Republicans have issues with is performance, despite the Democrats’ claim that conservatives are attacking the purpose of these programs.
Moon’s contention is that once the president’s healthcare law takes effect, the sky will not fall and the country will quickly accept it as essential. This is true for the purpose of Obamacare, but likely not for its performance. Medicare’s and Medicaid’s performance is of great concern to most Americans, as without major reform, they will soon bankrupt the country. Likewise, without Social Security reform, payouts must soon decrease or taxes will have to go up.
Obamacare is seriously flawed and very complicated. It has set in motion a torrent of unintended consequences. Republicans understand these consequences and are trying to reform Obamacare. And no, our purpose is not to kill grandma or deny insurance coverage to millions of uninsured Americans.
Jeff McCombs
La Palma
The writer is a health economist at the USC School of Pharmacy.
As a former spokeswoman for a major medical center, I know the financial harm that serious illness can cause the uninsured. So I support Obamacare.
However, as a communications professional, I wince at how poorly the law has been communicated to the public. Even with my professional experience, I have difficulty understanding all aspects of the law. So I can imagine how someone with no background in healthcare policy might not realize that Obamacare may make his or her life easier.
It’s said that if you can’t make a policy understandable to the least-educated person who might benefit, you haven’t presented your case well enough. It’s also often said that you can almost never lose by over-communicating something.
The federal government has a long way to go in over-communicating the benefits of Obamacare. And it doesn’t have a lot of time left to do it.
Mary Stanik
Minneapolis
Re “A hobby shop is not a church,” Editorial, Sept. 24
Businesses like Hobby Lobby that cite faith in refusing to cover contraception are close-minded. Birth control is used not only to prevent pregnancy but to treat irregular periods or more serious conditions.
Some say that employees of such businesses who want better coverage are free to find an employer that suits their needs. Fine, but the job market is still down, so it’s not so easy to just up and quit your job when you have bills and responsibilities to take care of.
This important issue affects many young adult women; they could make a difference by standing up and voicing their opinions about healthcare coverage.
I understand that this generation is not known for caring about politics, but I do know that the fight over contraception coverage would shock young women if they were informed.
Charity Lavey
Northridge
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