Letters to the editor, Aug. 12, 2009

Comparing health
insurance plans
It is understandable that health insurance companies do not want the competition of a public health plan option in the health insurance plan that our Congress is working on right now.
But look at facts like: health insurance companies' overhead is about 20 percent and Medicare - a public health care program - is about 3 percent; health insurance companies are trying to stop insuring individuals and companies that cost them money, causing many to go into bankruptcy after just one hospital stay, while the public option plan will insure everyone.
"Bill Moyers Journal's" guest Wendell Potter, an ex-health care company's executive, stated many negative things that health insurance companies are doing to keep out a public health option.
One of the most startling statements was that they will stop donating money to Congress members and will donate money to their opponent in their next election if they vote for the public insurance option. 
Now insurance companies and some Republicans have stooped to a new low by interrupting Democratic town hall meetings.  
I would prefer to be insured by a government-backed health insurance plan rather than a company that will make a profit if they deny me service.
Norman Melos
Sequim

Dicks and health care
Walt Schubert was able to summarize a major problem with our health care system in his letter of July 29 when he wrote that many people in Sequim have to choose between health care and food. And isn't it a shame that the wealthiest country in the world has left too many of its citizens in just this place where they do have to make choices between these two essential elements of life?
When he wrote to Norm Dicks, he should have insisted that Congress do something to solve this problem instead of urging him to block it. To Norm Dicks' credit, he signed on to HB 676, the single-payer plan or Medicare for All Bill. In order for senior citizens as well as young working families to not have to face that tragic choice between food and health care, we need a single-payer program.
By insisting that our representative stand in the way of health care reform, Walt Schubert has shown himself to be the kind of political leader who does not want to try to solve the problems of his constituency.
Carlyn Syvanen
Sequim

No greedy fowls
In response to the article "Greedy fowls foul our nest" in the Aug. 5 Observations by Jim Follis, your community radio station, KSQM, would like to publicly thank all of those people who have come out to support our fundraising efforts. Since May of this year, we have raised approximately $4,600 and every penny went to the benefit of KSQM and hence, strictly for the benefit of the listeners we serve.
KSQM radio is an open book and our records are not only available to our community and the public but we publish our tax return on our Web site ksqmfm.com, making our nonprofit business available to the whole world.
Thanks from all of us at KSQM for our listeners' generosity.
Dorothy Zapata
Volunteer announcer, KSQM