The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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November 23, 2009

Your View — Stand up for those without health insurance

Robert Idso, St. Peter

I want to thank Congressman Tim Walz for voting for the health care bill. That vote took a lot of courage.

Now, I hope it makes it through the Senate. The insurance and drug industries will do everything they can to stop this bill. I’m sure we will see more attack ads before long.

Some of us in this country have great insurance but millions have none at all and millions more have insurance but not much coverage.

My wife and I have insurance through our work. I actually have more than I need because, as a veteran, I also have the VA. But of our four adult children, the only one who has stable health care is our daughter who was in the Navy, so she also has the VA.

Two of our sons are carpenters. Work has been spotty and they are uninsured most of the time. Fortunately they are healthy.

Our other son has Crohn’s disease and his medicine (Remicade) costs more than $60,000 a year. Next spring when he graduates from college, he goes off our insurance. Then what?

We all know people who are uninsured or who lost their insurance or were denied coverage when they needed it. People get sick and end up bankrupt. We all know these stories. We respond with fundraisers that don’t make a dent in the medical bills.

Every other industrialized country in the world has found a way to see that all their people have health care. We can do it too. But those of us with insurance have to stand up and insist that everyone be insured.

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