Government healthcare
Why is the federal government involved in healthcare at all? Private industry does most of the medical research, invents new drugs, and develops medical procedures. Private industry can deny coverage to anyone they choose; deny payment of any and all medical claims they choose; charge whatever they want for drugs, hospital stays, and treatment; withhold reimbursements to doctors; and lobby politicians to keep their hold on a healthcare industry that earns them millions of dollars every year.
Following World War II, President Harry S. Truman tried to pass universal healthcare legislation. During the war, companies began offering healthcare benefits to workers as an incentive. Guess what the pharmaceutical, hospital associations, doctors’ associations, and healthcare insurance companies did? Big money to politicians’ campaigns guaranteed that no government plan would be adopted.
Almost every president since has tried some form of legislation to help the American people, with the same results. President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act began as a dream of universal healthcare, but big money to politicians and negative advertising forced the final version to be a weak version of the original proposal.
Tell your members of Congress and senators that Health Saving Accounts (HSAs) are not healthcare — they are your money being saved for specific medical events. Associations of small companies, trying to obtain better insurance premiums for their members, are at the mercy of the healthcare insurance companies.
Why do the politicians not put pressure on the pharmaceutical companies, pharmacy benefit managers (middlemen who take a cut of every drug purchased), hospital associations, especially privately owned hospitals, doctors’ associations, and healthcare insurance companies? You guessed it. Political contributions and lobbying.
Dave Savage, (ret.) Lieutenant Junior Grade, U.S. Navy, Collingswood
Weaponizing lies
President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring fentanyl as a “weapon of mass destruction.”
“No bomb does what this is doing,” he said of the drug. “200,000 to 300,000 people die each year.”
Did he forget America’s bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 killed between 90,000 to 166,000 people?
No.
Trump lies to us almost daily.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports approximately 80,000 Americans died in 2024 from fentanyl usage, not “200,000 to 300,000.” Far deadlier, according to the CDC, are annual addiction deaths from American-made alcohol, which total about 180,000; and, from tobacco usage, 480,000.
Trump’s lies are a “weapon of mass delusion” that will only be defused when responsible news media and brave Democratic politicians fact-check him with evidence — immediately — after every lie he spews.
Reggie Regrut, Phillipsburg
Objective criticism
I appreciate and respect the passionate letters to the editor from Inquirer readers, including a recent submission calling out Republican lawmakers for seeking to corrupt the electoral process through manipulative gerrymandering. The criticism of Republicans is certainly warranted, but unless we can objectively call out equally damaging manipulation by Democratic lawmakers, including efforts in Illinois, New York, California. and other blue states, we will continue to dig our partisan holes deeper. Politicians respond to voter voices and behaviors. As long as they think a voting bloc is OK with gerrymandering that helps their party gain or stay in power while opposing the same actions by the other party, we will continue to get more of the same from Republicans and Democrats. Behavior like that should be an embarrassment to all American citizens.
Larry Senour, Doylestown
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