Public Health System Argument Inaccurate

Robert Lekachman’s March 3 column, “U.S.’ Ailing Public Health System,” is so full of inaccuracies that it raises the question of the quality of his teaching at the Lehman College of the City University of New York.

The professor claims that life expectancy in England exceeds our own, thanks to the British Health Service (socialized medicine).

According to the most recent statistics in the 1987 World Almanac, our male life expectancy at birth is 71.1 years, compared to their 70.2 years, and female life expectancy is 78.3 years, compared to their 76.2 years.

More important is that infant mortality in this country is 10.5 deaths per 1,000 births, compared to England’s 13.3 deaths per 1,000 births. This is hardly an indictment against American health care.

Our health system continually needs review and modification to meet a changing population’s needs.

However, in this review and discussion, accurate and unbiased facts must be presented. Lekachman has failed to do this.

JOHN P. SHARP

Redondo Beach