Tobacco Funds Initiative

* Re “Hospital Launches Radio Ads for Tobacco Funds Measure,” Aug. 22.

From what I’ve read about Measure O it can be summarized simply: It proposes to use the tobacco settlement money to improve the entire health care system in Ventura County.

It presents a plan to make all the local hospitals healthy, not just the public hospital that enjoys the advantage of significant taxpayer subsidies to care for the poor. Measure O also addresses other health-care-related needs, such as home care for the elderly, more trained nurses and immunizations and tobacco prevention education for children.

Not everyone uses the county hospital, and because every hospital has an ethical obligation to treat any person, regardless of ability to pay, it makes no sense that only the county hospital gets significant tax revenue to cover the losses.

I wish county leaders could leave their egos at the door and accept that the tobacco settlement money should be used only for health care purposes. In a perfect world government officials could manage their personal feelings and public issues without emotions. But we don’t live in a perfect world.

HENRY F. ALVIANI

Ventura

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Re “Sniping Heavy in Battle for Tobacco Dollars,” Sept. 4.

It’s hard to believe that a local private hospital would spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to grab public tobacco settlement funds.

In writing Measure O, they have come up with a formula that would split the tobacco money among a few hospitals. Curiously, none of them are competitors of Community Memorial Hospital.

In its ballot initiative, Community Memorial has confused bad debt with charity care. Bad debt is money due from people who could pay their bill but do not; charity care is services provided to people who cannot pay their bill. St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard provides much more charity care than Community Memorial in Ventura but does a better job of collecting its debts. According to Measure O, Community Memorial would receive tobacco funds but St. John’s would not.

It just doesn’t make any sense. Vote no on Measure O.

ED CARLONI

Thousand Oaks

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Re “Hospital Launches Radio Ads for Tobacco Funds Measure,” Aug. 22.

Opponents of Measure O say they “hope people will see through the ads and realize that if Community Memorial gets the money they will simply use it to pay off the costs of caring for the uninsured and indigent.”

What’s wrong with enabling every hospital in Ventura County to treat more poor and indigent residents? Most hospitals are struggling financially, and recent Times stories about the proposed sale of Ojai Valley Community Hospital serve as an example. Hospitals are not like other businesses because hospitals cannot refuse service to those who cannot pay. Therefor they absorb considerable losses.

Measure O proposes to use the tobacco lawsuit money to reimburse the private hospitals for care to the uninsured and indigent already provided. The hospitals cannot collect any money unless they prove they treated people who cannot pay.

The county hospital does not have to worry about this because the taxpayers pay for it. We intend to vote for Measure O. It makes sense.

JANET and GEORGE

TREVARTHEN

Ventura