Letters from Readers

Federal health-care act will benefit Wyomingites

From Dr. Eric Wedell

Casper

As a Wyoming physician and a member of Consumer Advocates:Project Healthcare, I would urge Wyoming citizens to learn all theycan about the federal Affordable Care Act and how well it addressestheir needs and the needs of the people of Wyoming, both now and inthe future.

The act provides a chance for Wyoming to address serious problemsin our health-care system, which leaves too many people un- andunder-insured.

The current health-care system is seriously flawed, and decadesof incremental attempts to fix it have failed. The federal law is astep in the right direction.

People with insurance live longer and have healthier lives. Wewant our patients to have health insurance, and the act will helpinsure 95 percent of our population by 2020, sooner if we worktogether to achieve this.

The act will help us train new health-care providers and provideincentives practice in rural areas like Wyoming. And it addressescost containment through a study of evidence.

The Affordable Care Act moves us toward a system that protectsconsumers from the worst practices of insurance companies,establishes standards and promotes transparency and accountabilityso people can make better choices and not get tricked into thinkingthey have coverage when they don't.

It is important to understand that coverage for everyone is aprerequisite to making other aspects work. This will be mostly paidfor by the federal government. Medicaid eligibility will bestandardized and the application process will be simplified.

A recent study for the Wyoming Department of Health revealed30,000 low-income people will have access to health insurancethrough Medicaid, and this can be accomplished at a savings to thestate budget.

Another 40,000 low- and middle-income Wyomingites will haveaccess to federally subsidized insurance in the private marketthrough the creation of state insurance exchanges.

The rest of Wyoming will continue to get their insurance throughtheir employers as they do now but will benefit from the eliminationof "hidden taxes" that come from cost-shifting and benefit fromconsumer protections designed to add value to insurance products.

Experts have gotten petty about racial progress

From John Brunner

Wheatland

Traveling to work on Martin Luther King Day, I heard something onNPR that I feel would have made Dr. King very happy as well as sad.

The announcer said that one of the things Dr. King wanted wasequal access to public places for all people regardless of color.

The program went on to say that access to the Internet (a publicplace) is being hampered for people of color because many can onlyafford Internet access on their cellphones and iPads in contrast tothose who can access through laptops, which can do resumes, etc.

I feel Dr. King would be happy to hear that society has advancedso far as this is how trivial racial inequality has become.

I feel Dr. King would also be saddened by the pettiness exhibitedin that attitude exhibited on that NPR program. Some don't focus onthe progress made (thanks to Dr. King and others) but on what theydon't have.

Political correctness has left military unprepared

From Bill Padilla

Cheyenne

During the late 1970s, basic training for the majority of themilitary was made easier, probably due to pressure from civilians,media and other well-meaning organizations.

The Marines didn't change their training. Maybe that's why theMarines are the best.

When individuals don't undertake mentally and physically arduoustraining, they pay for it when exposed to combat. I know of a U.S.Navy Seal whose motto is, "The more sweat/pain in training, the lessblood in combat."

Every war produces GIs who can't hack it, develop mentalproblems, etc. You can attribute the increase of these symptoms tothe fact that they were not prepared in training.

When America beats the drum of war, many are not ready to acceptthe consequences of war. This "politically correct" military ispaying that price.