System needs less bureaucracy

The reason it’s hard to get excited about the idea of national health care is that our current level of health care already feels like “government quality,” with extensive bureaucratic intervention by insurance companies.

We know that we are among the privileged who do have health care, and we know that we already pay $2,000-$3,000 a year above the $3,000-$4,000 that our employer pays for us to have the “right” to make an appointment with our doctor. We know that it already takes two months to get in to see our doctor, and that once we are in, we are allowed 5-15 minutes with no more than three medical questions once we actually see our doctor, a privilege we pay a hefty co-pay to actualize.

So in realty, we already don’t have real health care, and it is discouraging to think what it will be like to pay higher taxes for an even lower quality health care. It’s hard to imagine how the quality of health care can get much lower, but we know that with government intervention, and being forced to pay higher taxes for everyone who refuses to work, in addition to those who can’t work, the quality of health care will be lowered. It’s just common sense to be concerned.

Elizabeth Thoreson

Snohomish