Without a doubt, all Americans, regardless of party, desire affordable, accessible and quality health care. There can also be no doubt that American Health care is second to none as can be illustrated by the fact that Americans have a higher survival rate than any other country on earth for 13 of 16 of the most common cancers. If you remove the homicide rate and accidental death rates, US citizens have a longer life expectancy than any other country on earth. Should we utilize the identical criteria for infant mortality rates, the US would rank No. 1. world wide.

Although, the US government pays more per capita for health care than other industrialized countries, spending a trillion dollars annually on health care programs, 46% of the total (npr.org), it is also recognized that it wastes one in three dollars with fraud, mismanagement, and redundancy of federal agencies.(The Top Ten Myths of American Health Care, Pacific Research Institute) In fact, generally, all poor Americans are covered by existing programs. Statistics of uninsured readily show:

• Roughly 70 percent now qualify for public health coverage through Medicaid or SCHIP.
• In 2006, 5.4 million children eligible for SCHIP or Medicaid were uninsured
• 80% are adults 20-53 (Kaiser Foundation)
• One third (15 million) earn over $50,000 annually (Kaiser Foundation)

While the governments of others countries pay a majority of health care costs, their citizens all pay taxes, as opposed to the US where over half of all Americans will pay no taxes. So those who refuse to take responsibility for their own actions and stop smoking and start exercising, demand more from us who do. If this Health Care reform is so needed and in such demand, then those demanding it should be willing to pay their share, as well as the legislators who mandate it, be required to participate. It has been over 49 years since the US government began to experiment in the health care business. I think the results speak for themselves.

W Daniel Tate

Phelan

760-964-4976