Health Care

Bob's letter to the editor of the SF Chronicle was published March 30, 2012:

The choice: health vs. money

Debra J. Saunders succinctly sums up the Republican view of our medical care crisis in "Why Romneycare outdoes Obamacare," March 27).

It's never the fault of Big Pharma or the medical-industrial complex or the profit-driven machinations of private hospital groups. It's the fault of the people, who use too much so-called "unnecessary care," like the colonoscopy I had seven years ago that discovered and removed precancerous polyps.

Their solution: "cost-sharing" to encourage families to make "smart choices," healthwise and moneywise. The problem is that what is health-wise is not always money-wise. Is that a severe headache or a stroke I'm having? Indigestion or the onset of a heart attack? Can I afford to spend $100, $200, $300 or more to find out?

For all their rhetoric about "government rationing," they fail to point out that their plans will result in a different form of rationing. Many Americans and their families will be forced to self-ration. High deductibles and onerous co-pays will result in more sickness and deaths that could have been avoided.

Robert Madera, Oakland