Healthcare remedies

Re “The healthcare three-step,” Opinion, Feb. 10

Henry J. Aaron’s critique of the Bush health plan starts with the sound observation that a key to lower individual premium costs is a larger risk pool. But this is only a start. From there his solutions only obscure the larger problem, which is the overall cost of insured care. Bush’s $7,500 for an individual and $15,000 for a family of four is only reasonable if you don’t consider that most First World countries pay less per capita for care that produces better public health statistics. They have a state-run or a state-regulated system that places caps on the cost of medical goods and services.

Until our national and state politicians finally accept the fact that no amount of tinkering with a system that ultimately relies on unregulated market pricing will solve the fundamental problem, we will continue to fall further behind our competition in the industrialized world.

BILL MARKS

Santa Barbara

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It makes no logical sense to put more profit-makers between the healthcare customer and the actual healthcare providers. We fund our national security through the federal government because we think it is important to have a national defense against those who would do us harm. Yet few of us will ever be put in harm’s way by a foreign enemy. Yet all of us will die, most from a medical ailment. Wouldn’t it make sense to provide protection from our real enemy: disease? Certain things are too important to trust to people only concerned about profit: our national security, transportation systems, our energy and our health.

PETE ALBERINI

La Mirada