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Time to look at health care again

To the editor:
I wonder how many of you who are not yet on Medicare know the real facts about the Prescription Drug Act, which was recently signed by President Bush, and its effect on health care in general?
It does offer some benefits, but on a whole does more harm than good.
It reduces Medicaid protection to low income people and they will have higher out-of-pocket costs than they do today.
The bill lacks any cost-containment for prescription drugs, since it prohibits the federal government from negotiating or containing drug prices paid and will mean a windfall profit to drug makers.
The bill also encourages private health insurance companies to compete with the Medicare system and they will naturally try to attract healthier enrollees and most likely charge a surcharge to the unhealthy enrollees.
All of this will probably lead to the privatization of the Medicare program, which has an administrative overhead cost of approximatelyÝ8 percent, while the same cost in the private health care industry is approximately 35 percent. Is it any wonder health care costs in the private sector are spiraling out of control?
Itís time we look once again at Universal Health Care, which would not only contain medical costs, but prescription drug prices as well.
M. Dorothy Hanson
Seven County Senior
Federation president

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