To the editor: California's budget is again in peril due to uncontrolled healthcare expenses.
Single-payer would fit the bill: Mandate price controls on insurance, drugs and medical supplies while mobilizing nationally to cover everyone, not only those on Medicaid. We cannot have fiscal stability locally without a fiscally sound healthcare system.
Jerome P. Helman, Venice
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To the editor: The Times has trumpeted
It will get worse as federal subsidies are set to decrease and California's share of the cost increases.
Medi-Cal is not "insurance." It is a form of welfare. This is not to bash welfare, which at times serves a legitimate purpose. But the difference must remain clear or we fool ourselves into going bankrupt.
True compassion is judged by adopting systems that lessen the need for dependency.
Jerry Travers, Los Angeles
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