Partner with Cleveland on a regional airport

Regarding “International Airport May Get Big Makeover” (Sept. 13):

A billion dollars could get spent on this important facility, but it will remain with its original problem: Our local region is too small to support the nonstop and inexpensive flights we need. Cleveland also has limited choices in flights, so we would all win if instead we partner with Ohio and Cleveland to build a bigger airport for both cities somewhere around Youngstown near the border. To make it work we would add high-speed rail from Pittsburgh to Cleveland stopping at this new and bigger airport every half-hour.

Pittsburgh and Cleveland, Pennsylvania and Ohio, should work to set up regional authorities like the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for planning and funding. This could cost much more than a billion dollars, but it would be a plan with a future. ARTHUR DAVIDSON

O’Hara

However, employees choosing high deductible plans are forced to “roll the dice” and wager their family members will not experience a health care emergency and face high out-ofpocket costs for treatment and prescription medication before insurance coverage becomes available. Conversely, employees who are older or who experience chronic health care problems can end up paying higher premiums when a higher deductible plan is a better fit.

There is mounting evidence that employees do not understand the nuances and “small print”of plans available to them.

It is incumbent on employers to sponsor well-designed health benefits education programs that are not simply “white noise.” Ultimately, it is the employee who pays in the long run in the form of higher out-ofpocket expenses or higher premiums. MARK D. EDWARDS

Downtown

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