finally

Now that major health-care reform is just a president's signature away, I thought I would share Sen. Dick Lugar's response (complete with facsimile signature), which I received last December, to my letter about the importance of real health-care reform. I realize the body of this letter was probably a blanket response to all health-care reform inquiries, but it symbolizes why the Republican party will never be a serious voice in the arena of health-care reform. For example, Lugar offered that as an alternative to the Democratic legislation, "health promotion and disease prevention" should be considered; further, he believed in programs for young people that will aid them in healthy decision making.

The services and concepts he mentioned are obviously important, but the matter at hand was health-insurance reform, not bolstering health and wellness programs. Nowhere in his response did he offer a solution for the 30 million Americans who don't have health insurance. Preexisting conditions were not mentioned. Nor was access to affordable, quality health care. The bill that awaits the president's signature is certainly a huge step forward, but I and millions of others wanted more aggressive legislation, most notably a public option. It's no coincidence that the S&P 500 Managed Health Care Index is up nearly 60% over the last year. Senators, Congressmen and women, PLEASE DO NOT LOSE SIGHT OF THE PUBLIC OPTION.

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