published in the News & Observer newspaper. So in the search engine, I did a search of my name and 31 matches came up. I was not aware of this feature. Anyway, the following was published this past Sunday concerning our Senators in North Carolina and health care:
Shaping, or strangling
I read your July 12 article "N.C. hands shape reform" and thought it would be more accurate to use the word kill as to reform or to call it preserving the current middle-man profit system. It appears to have little to do with cost containment but rather is an ideological approach aimed at protecting the interests of the for-profit health insurance system.
The mere fact that Sen. Max Baucus began the committee looking into reform without allowing physicians and supporters of a single-payer system a seat at the table confirms this approach. The other confirmation is the efforts of our senators to deny or sabotage a public option.
The citizen who pays the full $1,100 or more per month family premium will still be paying in one way or another for the marketing, administrative costs, stockholder profits and lawyers of health insurers even if he doesn't see a doctor during the year. Our health insurers will still determine the costs and rules involved in keeping their middle-man profits. Until the people have a lobby, there is probably little that citizens, small businesses and taxpayers can do but deal with high and escalating costs.
Michael L. Monk,
http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/letters/story/1611847.htmlI no longer care about using my name. The last threat directed at me and my family due to my writings was two years ago (so now you who didn't know my name now do). The threats are the reason was my profile has been hidden.