Thursday, May 24, 2007

Hannah Krening's LTE to the Denver Post

Hannah Krening has written an excellent letter to the editor, which appeared in today's edition of the Denver Post (halfway down the page):
Proposals to reform health care in Colorado

As a Colorado taxpayer, breast cancer survivor and one whose first husband lost a long battle with cancer, I want to say that the state 208 Commission's recent choices of proposals to evaluate all add up to one thing for me: I hope I never have a life-threatening condition again in Colorado if any of these proposals become reality. And I hope that nobody I love has to be subjected to the rationing, waiting and other debilitating results of what they evidently believe are the best of intentions.

Bringing more government involvement into health care "reform" is not a solution. It is a recipe for disaster. Of the proposals considered, only one reflected my views: the "FAIR" proposal, which has been cast aside. Only by reducing government involvement in health care will we get the kind of justice that will bring about the best care for all at the best possible price. We must remember that health care is not and cannot be free: the skills of doctors, researchers and technology companies must be fairly compensated. The alternative is slavery of the few taxpayers who will foot the huge (unworkable) bills and of the providers of health care who will ultimately leave the profession in order not to be enslaved by it.

This is not regulation on some dispensable part of our lives. This concerns everyone's survival, to some degree; nobody will be untouched by the outcome of this process. We have a lot to lose.

Hannah Krening, Larkspur