Health insurers’ angst
Profit margins
Regarding “3 more insurers on ACA exit list” (Page A1, Friday), it was inevitable that large insurers like Aetna might withdraw if their profit margins on the exchanges were not up to expectations. They are, after all, interested in primarily one thing; that is, making a profit. The insurance model is doomed. In 20 years they will all be gone. They don’t need to exist. At all. They are just a big vampire like middle-man feeding on others, that has no purpose except to satisfy their own greed.
The solution is twofold. Congress needs to get off their rear, start fixing the parts of the Affordable Care Act that don’t work well and give up the silly notion of trying to repeal the law. An option to buy insurance directly from the government is the most likely solution, since the working poor frequently complain that they just can’t find a policy that they can afford. There are clearly areas of the U.S. too, where there aren’t sufficient insurance choices or competition for consumers. The Republicans are just not going to get to the point when they deny some 20 million people insurance. They should instead start fixing the law by allowing Medicare to negotiate for drug prices and making other changes.
The second part is that the 19 states that are currently denying their own citizens insurance through the Medicaid expansion do so at once. That would add about 5 million to 7 million people to the rolls were they to comply. Texas leads in this area of shame, and we are currently denying about 1.5 million of the working poor insurance, and insanely turning down $100 billion in federal funding over 10 years. Let’s make insurance available and affordable for everyone.
Robert L. Fischer, Houston
Obamacare
Regarding “Rate hikes in Obamacare no cause for panic” (Page A2, Aug. 16), the claim that people should not worry about rate hikes in the ACA, and that increases will still be lower than preObamacare plans is, in my experience, way off base.
Pre-Obamacare, my wife and I paid an annual premium of around $10,000. When the ACA came in, this amount increased to $13,000 with significantly higher deductibles.
In late 2015 when Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas announced its discontinuation of Houston-based Kelsey Seybold Clinic as an approved vendor, we were forced to switch. The premium increased yet again to $14,000 per annum, this time with increased co-pays of $75 per visit.
I therefore cannot understand the claims in the article that clearly paints a rosy picture when the reality is so much different. Obamacare has been, in the main, bad news for health care; witness the number of insurance companies that have, or are about to, discontinue their ACA offerings.
David Rowan, Houston
A need to care
Regarding “5-year-old boy becomes face of Syrian war” (Page A11, Friday), this is my child. And yours. It is only differences of biology, language, country, religion and/or culture that allow us to see this child as one of the “Others.”
The Others have parents. The Others are loved by their family, and they enjoy playing with toys and with their friends. The Others like candy more than vegetables. The Others’ parents want them to be healthy and safe. The Others bleed when they are cut, bruise when they are beaten, cry when they are hurt, and die when they are killed. The parents of the Others want them to get an education and have opportunities to meet their basic needs in life such as food, water, shelter, and clothing. They want them to have the opportunity to grow up.
Except, the child that you are raising or have raised is also one of the Others. That child you call your own is only one war, one natural disaster, one random act of violence away from being this little boy. This is why we need to not look away. This is why we need to care. This is why we need to stop seeing children in a war ravaged country, or even on our streets here at home, as Others, and instead picture our own child being pulled from the rubble before we decide how we would want the world to act.
Sue Dimenn Deigaard, Houston
Message to anti-vaxxers
Regarding “Unvaccinated kids on the rise” (Page A1, Aug. 15), I have always believed that when you walk out your front door, you become a member of the community and must think about the common good for all.
If your child gets the measles because she wasn’t vaccinated, she could pass it on to other children, endangering their health and lives.
But, she could also pass it on to a pregnant teacher who could lose the pregnancy or have a seriously injured child for life. That you would be against it “for reasons of conscience” is a violation of your responsibility to others in the community. If you must, then stay inside your home. Forever.
Kati Woodward, Cypress