Health Care Reform Debate

California’s proposed “pay at the pump” auto insurance and the Clinton Administration’s proposed energy tax inspire me to put forth the following solution for financing health care:

I suggest we tax the fat content of food. The higher the content of fat, the higher the tax levied on each food item. This tax would be collected at the wholesale level like the proposed energy tax and would supplant current health care premiums.

By taxing the fat content of food we would accomplish two important goals. First, funds would be raised to pay for health care; second, higher prices for unhealthy foods would encourage an improvement in the diet of people. Decreasing fat ingestion not only prevents cardiovascular disease, the No. 1 killer, but also decreases the likelihood of numerous cancers and reduces the chances of obesity.

This tax and the increased levies on alcohol and cigarettes would accomplish the dual purposes of promoting better health and paying for the health care we need.

JONATHAN D. LAWRENCE MD

San Juan Capistrano