Quality care for all should be the goal

For more than half of my 63 years I have lived in England, Canada and Australia, countries with largely government-sponsored health-care systems. I was always able to select the physician of my choice while receiving excellent medical treatment in a timely manner. I never had some bureaucrat prevent me from receiving recommended treatment. Furthermore, I was never concerned about the costs of treatment.

While living in this country, I have also been able to visit my physician of choice and receive timely medical care. However, I have consistently been aware that my medical treatment would be influenced by an insurance company bureaucrat determining appropriate treatment for my condition, and that financial consequences result from the insurance deductible and my decision to accept treatment.

A 2007 study of health-care systems (exploring quality care, access, efficiency, equity and healthy lives) of Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States placed the U.S last. Contrary to jingoistic claims, our health care is not the best in the world.

In addressing health care, our primary concerns should be enhancing the quality of care available to all Americans while controlling costs. We should not be driven by preconceived notions regarding what is socially or politically acceptable. Some politicians are touting the special-interest views of groups aligned with insurance and medical communities by employing transparently false scare tactics. We should ignore the claims of individuals who fear the impact proposals might have on their incomes rather than our health.

ALAN JOURNET, Cape Girardeau