Letters to the Editor 10/29

Paslov's rhetoric uncivil, doesn't help debate

Once again Dr. Paslov has claimed that the Congressional Republicans "defeated the public option provision of insurance reform." Notice he said insurance reform, not health care reform. Even the headline to the commentary credited the GOP with delivering the death blow. Wrong. The Republicans do not have the numbers to block anything. If enough of the Democrat legislators were on board with Obama's vision of government-controlled health care, the legislation would have been passed months ago.

Republicans have offered hundreds of amendments, all rejected by the Democrat majority. Will Paslov characterize them as "just say no Democrats?" Those blocking health care reform, along with refusing to address tort reform which is essential to real reform, are congressional Democrats. At present, they have all the power in Washington.

For a commentator who has self-righteously pleaded again and again for civil and open debate, Dr. Paslov has sunk to a new low by asserting that any Republican block to reform, if successful, would, and I quote, "literally deal death sentences to citizens" and by wishing those who oppose his views to, again I quote, "rot in Hades," the abode of the dead. Such hyperbole does not advance the debate and is hardly civil.

Ruth Ailes

Carson City

Diet high in Omega 3 would cut health care costs

The U.S. spends 18 percent of GDP on health care, Japan spends 8 percent, yet Japan has far better outcomes in every disease category, from cancer to heart disease to obesity, diabetes and mental health. Does this mean that Japan has a better health care system? No. It means that Japan has a better diet. Since they eat five times as much fish as we do, they have far lower rates of chronic inflammatory diseases caused by Omega-3 deficiency.

Could we reduce health care expenditures by 10 percent of GDP and have better outcomes? Yes, we could, and that wasted 10 percent could help balance the budget and stimulate new business investment. This could be done in two ways: 1. Educate the public about the need for a diet with balanced Omega 3 and 6 fats, and, 2. Make use of the Omega-3 Index as the key criteria for health insurance underwriting. The higher an individual's Omega-3 Index, the healthier they will be and the less expensive they will be to insure, so they should be rewarded with a lower premium.

Pre-existing conditions should not be allowed to influence insurance rates, that's water under the bridge, but everyone should not pay the same premium, which needs to be used as an incentive to maintain a healthy Omega-3 Index. This is the solution to the health care crisis, and in time, it would solve the economic crisis as well. The sooner this approach is taken, the sooner these crises will be resolved.

Rich Dunn

Carson City