The Feds Can Ensure Health as Well as Safety

Re “Hillarycare, Anyone?” editorial, Feb. 15: Somewhere in the deep, dark recesses of the American psyche there was a conscious decision to trust the federal government to make the United States the strongest military power on the face of the Earth.

Americans did that because our security affected all the people. Why then wouldn’t Americans come to the same conclusion regarding healthcare?

Doesn’t the health of the American people affect us all? Wouldn’t it make sense to put the responsibility of America’s healthcare into the hands of those who are answerable to all of us? Wouldn’t we save money if we had a single agency running the healthcare of America?

Wal-Mart is able to cut costs of goods to consumers because of its size, which enhances its buying power and operational efficiency. Doesn’t the cost of America’s healthcare dwarf the economic power of Wal-Mart?

Wouldn’t the federal government be able to buy medical services and products in bulk at cheaper prices than states, counties, cities, HMOs or individuals?

Pete Alberini

La Mirada

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Only the L.A. Times could wax nostalgic over Hillary Clinton’s failed plan for socialized medical care.

And only the L.A. Times can further the lie that millions go without treatment; anyone without the means to pay for emergency care is given it free by the state, including the millions of people who are here illegally, as well as the children of those here illegally.

The L.A. Times and all those on the left will not be happy until such time as all the doctors, hospitals, pharmacies and insurers are brought under government control and are forced to provide the same “free” mediocre care to everyone.

Michael Bernier

Santa Clarita

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Before your readers wax nostalgic about Hillarycare, they might recall that the Clinton plan of 1993 called for herding everyone into an HMO while relying solely on privately insured group plans and free-market forces to contain costs.

Well, despite its political defeat, that basic system of so-called managed competition has in fact worked fine for the few tycoons who managed it, and is pretty much the dysfunctional healthcare system many Californians are forced to live with today. I doubt if many of us will feel nostalgic when it is inevitably replaced by a publicly financed system that includes and benefits everybody.

Bill Marks

Santa Barbara