Speak Out 7/21/09

Sharing the road

MOTORISTS need to be more considerate of bikers on the side of the street. I have had several motorists pull beside me and honk their horns at me. I am over as far as I can go, and motorists are not helping me any by honking. This might cause someone to turn toward a vehicle and cause serious injury. There is plenty of room for the both of us on the road. The next time you see someone on a bike, slow down and make sure you can pass safely.

Reform success

I have no doubt that health care reform will be successful this year, because this reform puts patients first and offers the American people the right, best and highest quality health care with electronic medical records. It will be deficit-neutral over next 10 years. It has been estimated that health care reform will cover 97 percent of all Americans. At this moment, 170 million people are supposed to have health insurance. I think 131 million will apply for the universal government plan. Prevention and electronic medical records are keys for savings. The Mayo Clinic, one of the best in the world, has already shown that an estimated 30 to 40 percent of health care spending is associated with failures, including duplication and poor communication. The Mayo Clinic is able to provide some of the best health care services in the country at half, or sometimes even less, the cost of some other areas where the quality is not as good. Now we need Congress' support, as a next step, to do what is the best for American people and this country.

Malpractice awards

WILL Richardson hit the nail on the head of his column in the last paragraph about out-of-control malpractice litigation. I feel if we could limit and redirect malpractice awards, this could help stem the spiraling costs for medical treatment. If insurers were given less direct exposure and the brunt of the award was directly related to the making good of a bad deal, say in the form of additional medical care by the responsible party, then insurance premiums would, in theory, stabilize. Apply the limits to all facets of health care and this conceivably would help stabilize the cost of equipment as well. Now if we could just get the big drug makers out of the pockets of Congress.

Smoking issue

FOR those of you who haven't yet been lucky enough to visit a city, county or state where smoking isn't allowed indoors, take a trip outside your smoky little box. I grew up in Cape Girardeau. The lack of common sense when it comes to this issue is one of the major reasons I will no longer be calling this town home. I hope Cape Girardeau realizes soon that this is not a matter of personal freedoms, but rather a public health issue.

Thanks for help

THE Jackson police received a call from a motorist saying a woman was walking east on East Jackson Boulevard Saturday evening. Officer Austin McAllister was out by Buchheit's and went to check this out. He was able to cut Mom off by the Dairy Queen. She has dementia. We are thanking God for putting this motorist and Office McAllister in our family member's path. I have no idea who this motorist is, but please know we thank you.