Will members of Congress be covered, too?
To the editor:
With all the debate currently surrounding health care, I have one question that I believe everyone should be asking their representatives: Will members of Congress, their dependents, federal employees and their dependents be required to switch over to the same health care program that Congress is mandating to the rest of us, or will they instead have their own?
If they do not take the same plan that they impose upon the rest of us, caveat emptor.
AL POPP
LAS VEGAS
Sham meeting
To the editor:
I noticed that President Obama has rolled out his latest "change." It's a new town hall format. Fill the room with party-loyal supporters and then ask for a "tough" question.
Tuesday's "town hall" meeting was a poorly veiled partisan commercial for Mr. Obama and the Democrats when it comes to health care -- or should I say "health insurance" -- reform? We heard no dissent, because no dissenters were allowed in. The idea of a town hall meeting is for a discussion of the issue. What was offered was Mr. Obama telling us what he wants us to hear and nothing else.
Even the loud meetings that are being held when both sides are let into a town hall are more American than the propaganda we were force-fed at Tuesday's "town hall."
Shame on you, Mr. President, for putting on a sham like that.
RUSSELL PERKINS
LAS VEGAS
Water stealers
To the editor:
The casinos are now crying about lost revenues and fewer people coming to Las Vegas. They have even lowered prices to entice people there, but people don't want to come because the machines don't pay out worth a darn.
Furthermore, Las Vegas is running out of water. But even in spite of less revenue and no water, they still keep building more casinos. Did their brains fry in the heat?
If you don't have the people coming, and if you don't have enough water, why build more casinos? Oh yeah, I forgot: You are going to steal the water from central Nevada because they don't need it.
BONNI SMITH
CALIENTE
Cost breakdown
To the editor:
There is a pervasive and inaccurate belief, articulated in Paul Harasim's Aug. 13 article, "LV doctor: Physicians speak up," that the health insurance industry is responsible for the continued rise in health care costs.
In the interest of debunking myths -- and understanding that health care costs continue to spiral out of control and that reform efforts must rein in cost in order to ensure greater access -- I'd like to share a bit of information about what actually drives cost. I'd ask that everyone do the math for this simple, but compelling exercise:
-- 73 cents: Hospital (inpatient and outpatient) and physician services account for 73 cents of every dollar spent on health care.
-- 14 cents: Prescription drug usage accounts for 14 cents of every health care dollar.
-- 13 cents: Health Insurers account for 13 cents of every health care dollar. Three percent to 5 percent of that is profit.
So, who -- or what -- is responsible for the rising cost of health care? Many factors are at play, but 87 cents of every dollar you pay for health insurance goes directly to pay providers, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies.
So how do we rein in runaway costs so people can access health care? Look at what's driving cost and make sure that those issues are addressed in local, statewide and national efforts to reform the health care system.
Mike Murphy
LAS VEGAS
THE WRITER IS PRESIDENT OF ANTHEM BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD IN NEVADA.
Green religion
To the editor:
I have been following letters to the editor the past several months, and I wonder what some people have learned about government control of anything? Tuesday's lead story was "Clinton preaches green spirit."
If anyone has had the thought that these greeny environmentalists have formed a new religion, that headline should raise warning signs.
This movement is very much a religion, and it is not new.
The Druids believed god was in all things in nature. Ring a bell?
Climate change has occurred in cycles for thousands, if not millions, of years. Warming and cooling follow each other over and over.
Real scientists know this. But Al Gore, Bill Clinton, Harry Reid and others keep preaching that humans can control nature.
Ask yourself: What do they have to gain by destroying the U.S. economy? Who is funding this attack on the U.S. Constitution, and the freedom it gives the people?
Question the lies of those rushing into fixing things that are either not broken, or have been damaged by their own failed policies.
ROBERT H. LEASE
LAS VEGAS
