Letters to the editor March 14

Insurance companies get rich; patients suffer

Chuck Muth is about to have an epiphany. His primary care physician has justifiably stopped accepting medical insurance in lieu of a private membership option for his patients.

Muth is correct in blaming the health insurance industry for his doctor's decision. According to the AARP, 500,000 claims are denied each day by health insurers. They get away with this because only

4 percent of the patients are willing to dispute their denials, probably because they are too tired or too sick to deal with the capricious grievance process.

Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center employs over a dozen claims specialists to do battle with the thieving insurance companies. When they submit claims, they expect to have to resubmit the same claims at least two more times before being reasonably compensated.

The doctors in private practice get cheated daily by the insurance companies because they can't afford the staff or the time to argue with these weasels. Therefore, some doctors resort to the private membership option, others simply give up their private practice and find other ways to employ their very costly and hard-won education.

On the other hand, some health insurance industry CEO's receive annual compensations of over

$1 billion in bonuses and salary. Cheating sick people is astonishingly profitable, yet the doctors treating them can barely make expenses.

Perhaps Chuck Muth will finally see the light and sign on for Obamacare. Our country desperately needs health care reform. We could even call it Omuthacare.

Phil Stotts

Carson City

Gibbons saddled with union-driven waste

I feel some compassion for Gov. Gibbons, given the unworkable condition of the state's financial state that he inherited. He is trying, or at least the news suggests that he is seeking an intelligent solution, while all the while he must dodge the darts and arrows flying at him as if he caused the problem which, of course, he did not.

Most of the contrary news that I read is boring political spite, as if the term Republican is a dirty word. Well, folks, the problems do not carry a party name, but are best described as corruption, even in li'l ol' Nevada.

Other states are worse off. California is in terrible shape. Michigan, the hub of our automotive industry, is in dreadful shape. By the way, what company made the auto in your driveway, the TV sets and computers in your house? They, of course, are largely foreign-made, and mostly because they are cheaper. G.M., for example, must pay $42 per hour more than the Japanese automaker pays, for one major reason - unions.

So how does that affect Gov. Gibbons? He is saddled with feather-bedded public employment - very much so in that sacred cow known as public education. Private industry, the economic engine, is losing ground to the nation's largest employer - government, which continues to hire while industry is failing.

The Nevada problem, just like federal, is exploitation by unions, the ones who own the politicians.

Vernon M. Latshaw

Carson City

Demand picture ID with credit cards

Stores taking stolen credit cards should be responsible for the bill. It's their fault in the first place. They must ask for picture ID. Make it a law. Use common sense here.

Linda McGinty

Silver Springs

No salty language in newspaper, please

I believe there is a right time and a right place for everything. I was disappointed in the lack of class shown in printing the ugly words that disgraced the front page of Saturday's paper.

I understand the purpose of a roast, all in good fun, and that it was a fundraiser for a worthy cause. Next time, I would prefer to have a front page story that better represents our beautiful city and the people who call this place home.

Corina Flansberg

Carson City

Reid, Paslov cut from same cloth

Almost in the same breath, Dr. Eugene Paslov and our esteemed Sen. Harry Reid have shown their total lack of good judgement. I do not belittle Dr. Paslov's knowledge and understanding of education, but he should stick to that subject alone.

On the other hand, Harry Reid showed his complete lack of sensitivity the other day when he got up before the Senate and proclaimed it "good news" that only 36,000 people, according to the latest figures, had lost their jobs. I'm sure those poor folks might take exception to his remarks.

Dr. Paslov, on the other hand, praises Harry Reid. It almost sounds as though the two of them are joined at the hip. They both may be intelligent men, but they don't have enough common sense to come in out of the rain.

The trillion dollar deficits and entitlement programs proclaimed under the Obama administration will bankrupt our nation. Please take note, Dr. Paslov and Sen. Reid.

Fletcher Ingals

Carson City

What has Harry Reid ever done for Nevada?

I look forward to reading Dr. Eugene Paslov's commentary, just like I look forward to reading the comic section of the newspaper. Both of them are hilarious at times.

In response to Dr. Paslov's commentary of March 6, I have to say that I guess he does not pay much attention to the news, because nationally, Nevada ranks No. 1 in home foreclosures, No. 2 in unemployment at 13.8 percent, and No. 48 and 49 in quality of education. Despite these horrific numbers, Dr. Paslov has nothing but praise for Sen. Reid.

As Senate majority leader, what has Reid actually done for Nevada? He is certainly not a quintessential Nevada conservative and, in my opinion, he sure hasn't done anything to use the key he holds to help our state survive. On the contrary, Sen. Reid is nothing more than a puppet who votes for his own self-interests, not the interests of his constituents in Nevada.

Finally, I have to ask: What would Sen. Reid be willing to pay me for my vote?

Joe Lopez

Carson City