Single-payer healthcare pushed

Re “Gov.’s health plan may put many in bind,” Feb. 18

We will never adequately address the healthcare issue until we acknowledge that it is not a legitimate profit-based business. We persist in trying to solve the problem with President Bush’s tax breaks or Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s mandatory insurance. One assumes that everyone pays taxes and is able to wait until next year to reclaim the money they must spend to stay healthy. The other assumes that the businesses that profit most from having their product mandated are best equipped to manage costs.

We can only begin to address the problem when we acknowledge that universal healthcare should be a service provided and regulated by the government, similar to police and fire protection. It is best not left to the marketplace.

BILL ELLIS

Ladera Ranch

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It is gratifying to realize that so many American leaders realize that there is a crisis in the healthcare systems of our country. What is not mentioned in the article is the bill being proposed again this year by state Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica). Her single-payer plan would cover all Californians and have no insurance company involvement. Healthcare providers have to make a decent living, and hospitals have to have some surplus in order to upgrade their facilities. But it is not logical that anyone should become rich because people get sick and need help. Single-payer plans solve these problems.

Please be sure Kuehl’s bill gets equal space with other proposals that purport to offer affordable healthcare.

JOANNE NAGY

Granada Hills

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Re “Health reform advocates scale back goal,” Feb. 18

Many national healthcare plans provide universal insurance at a lower per-capita cost than our system with better results. Given the renewed debate about health coverage in this country, why doesn’t The Times provide a series of articles on national health insurance in countries like Sweden, Germany and Japan, analyzing how their systems work, what they cost compared to our non-system, how they are financed and whether they could be adapted to the peculiarities of the United States?

That would provide a basis for an informed debate about how best to provide coverage at a cost lower than our present expenditures for medical treatment.

J.D. HUNLEY

Rialto

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As a small-business owner who provides health insurance for my employees and their families, I believe the governor’s ambitious healthcare plan will make it less expensive for small businesses to provide health insurance. Costs will drop because the 6 million uninsured Californians will have health coverage. The plan will level the playing field for small and big businesses to provide health insurance. The cost of providing expensive emergency room care for the uninsured will be eliminated because they will have access to medical attention.

THERESA GRANDE

Irvine