Letters To The editor

There Are Simple Ways To Fix Health Care
Editor, Times-Dispatch: Suppose one could buy auto insurance after a collision. Who would buy auto insurance prior to an accident? Suppose one could buy health insurance after getting sick. Who would buy health insurance when they were well? The answer to both questions is the same: nobody with a working brain. If we force health insurers to cover people with pre-existing conditions, that is, those who want to buy insurance after they're sick, who will pick up the tab? It will be the people who are still insured prior to getting sick. What will happen to the insurance costs of those people who are picking up the tab for those gaming the system? Insurance costs will grow exponentially. Everyone will wait until they really need it to buy insurance, and the pre-existing condition insurance Ponzi scheme will come to an end.

Poor people have Medicaid, CHIP, free health clinics, and access to emergency-room care at hospitals. They are not impacted that much by pre-existing conditions affecting their health care options. Some middle-income families are impacted by pre-existing condition insurance problems, either by choosing not to purchase health insurance, or because the head of the family lost his or her job. A better solution is for the government to provide supplemental coverage of COBRA insurance until the unemployed person finds a new job with health coverage. If this person is dealing with a pre-existing condition, then the government should continue to supplement the purchase of COBRA insurance so this family can remain with the original health insurer. The cost of this pre-existing health insurance option could be funded by payroll taxes as part of the disability insurance program. The payroll tax would be very modest, as all employed persons would contribute and benefit. We don't need to overhaul our entire health care system to deal with this problem.

Richard Jarvis.
Richmond.

Creigh Deeds' vacuous political campaign of insults and negative attacks has given me a glimpse of a man I do not want as governor. Unlike Deeds, McDonnell can relate to the issues that women really care about: family, finances, and faith.

As a wife and mother, I put family first. McDonnell realizes that the right choice can be amazing -- as my own family shows. We adopted one of our daughters -- a sweet, beautiful girl who was placed for adoption by a brave young birthmother. Our baby son, who has brought so much joy to my family, has Down syndrome, a condition that sadly leads many to choose abortion. All of our children have blessed us beyond measure.

McDonnell realizes the importance of instruction in the role of education and support for teachers. As a former high school teacher, I have firsthand knowledge of the impact that a well-educated teacher can provide a classroom. But, despite my years of experience and multiple degrees, the current teacher pay scale would make it incredibly difficult for me were I the sole provider for my family. McDonnell and Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling have proposed pay raises and an infusion of instructional capital for Virginia school systems.

Finally, I am grateful to support a person of strong faith. McDonnell writes and acts on his beliefs, while also respecting the beliefs of those around him.

So what would a smart woman choose? I've made my choice.

Gwen Smith.
Mechanicsville.

I was raised a Christian. However, I have been pushed further and further away as Christians reverted to the hatred and intolerance from the Old Testament instead of the love and tolerance preached by their own Savior. The only people Jesus was intolerant of were the ones who behaved like today's Christians. The only time He became violently angry was toward the moneychangers and their greed. I suspect He would feel the same about anyone spouting hatred in His name, and building political empires with overflowing coffers.

I respect human life as much as anyone, and I don't advocate abortion as a preferred method of birth control; but I also remember the news stories of young girls found dead in a hotel room or dumpster after having a back-alley abortion. The laws were changed to protect these women's right to life. I will always put the rights of the living over the rights of a handful of cells. No woman should be forced to undergo months of misery and untold changes to her body just to satisfy somebody else's sense of morality.

D. Scott McRae.
Henrico.