Kuehl’s Healthcare Plan Is a Workable Option

Ronald Brownstein’s article (“California Healthcare Recipes Could Whet National Appetite,” Washington Outlook, March 14) states that state Sen. Sheila Kuehl’s healthcare plan’s “cost and complexity stamp it as more a statement of principle than a viable option.” I disagree.

The plan, the California Health Insurance Reliability Act, would cover every Californian with comprehensive insurance while containing healthcare costs. By slashing the administrative costs of health insurance and using California’s purchasing power to buy prescription drugs and medical equipment in bulk, the plan would save an estimated $25 billion in the first year alone in statewide healthcare spending.

This is a legitimate proposal that deserves to be seriously considered by every Californian.

Susan Alexander Llauget

Arleta

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I was struck by Brownstein’s reference to Kuehl’s plan as a “government takeover,” and “an idea that excites many on the left.” It is a public trust fund similar to the Social Security fund. I don’t think anyone has ever called the Social Security trust fund a government takeover program, or a left-wing program.

It seems Brownstein has not read the plan, which is the most economically efficient one being proposed. The fact that it would remove for-profit private insurance companies from running America’s healthcare seems to scare him and the establishment.

Brownstein is right when he says the states have always led the feds on public-interest programs, and in this case, it again must be the case.

Lillian Laskin

Los Angeles