Insurance companies look out for No. 1
Why the no public option on health care bill? Quite simple, the insurances companies are exempt to antitrust laws.
What are antitrust laws?
• Prohibiting agreements or practices that restrict free trading and competition between business entities. This includes in particular the repression of cartels.
• Banning abusive behavior by a firm dominating a market, or anti-competitive practices that tend to lead to such a dominant position. Practices controlled in this way may include predatory pricing, tying, price gouging, refusal to deal, and many others.
• Supervising the mergers and acquisitions of large corporations, including some joint ventures. Transactions that are considered to threaten the competitive process can be prohibited altogether.
Sound good? Well, the insurance companies don't have to follow these laws because they are looking out for the better good of all insurance companies. We don't want the government involved. Let the insurance industry control market reform and pricing. We don't want to be Socialists. The insurance companies are going to help you.
Jerry Denis Sullivan
Minden
Change country's fundamentals is dangerous
One year ago I was fearful for my country when the president said he wanted to fundamentally change America. Today I am not only frightened for my country, but also for my family.
Fundamentals are the foundation on which something is established: faith, family, country, etc. If fundamentals are changed, the original ceases to exist, and what takes its place is usually inferior, with no true foundation - only the destruction of the fundamentals.
America has been in demolition mode for about 100 years starting with the creation of the Federal Reserve cartel in 1910 behind closed doors; since then a long list of the fundamentals in our Constitution has been drastically changed: education, taxes, personal property, etc.
The administration, liberal congressional leadership in both houses, liberal senators and representatives, and the liberal Supreme Court are now destroying the corners of our Constitution.
We all need to decide if we want this kind of change. If not, it is a time for courage to stand against it. If so, it's your choice to be a slave.
JoyceGale Ramos
Carson City
Without public option in health bill, we gain nothing
The people have already voted for health care reform and it won by a large margin. Just about everyone that voted for Obama voted for health care reform because that was one of the key issues during the election.
Now there are groups of people wanting to overturn the vote of the people because it will no longer be profitable for them. There has been much false and wrong information put out by the opponents of health care reform.
Without the public option we will have gained nothing. The public option is necessary and it is simply a way for people who can't afford the high cost of insurance or even get insurance to have some form of health coverage.
I lost my job a few months ago but have started a new job and can't get health insurance for six months after my start date. An affordable public option would be great for my family and me. It would at least offer something for those on unemployment or lesser incomes.
Recently my wife went to a clinic in Carson that charged on a sliding scale of the person's income. It was affordable but took her 21⁄2 months to get an appointment. Isn't that what the opponents of reform say happens in Canada and Britain? Talking to many Canadians, most of them tell me that isn't true at all.
The main thing wrong with our health care is that disease called greed.
John Mayfield
Carson City