To The Editor: Like the rest of us over 65 I have some experience with government run health care, Medicare.
For decades taxes in the amount of 2.9 percent of my income were collected and I was led to believe that this would provide for my retirement health care. Wrong!
Basic Medicare is inadequate, and one has to pay for the type B Medicare supplement and an additional private insurance to have proper coverage. Thus Medicare is neither free nor single payer, claims to the contrary not withstanding.
Also, as the level of Medicare payments to providers are much lower than private insurance, private insurance is effectively subsiding Medicare.
If government truly wanted to improve health care, it could do two simple things immediately:
1. Tort reform to remove the lawsuit lottery imposed costs.
2. Same tax treatment of private as employer based insurance. The fact that government does neither shows that good affordable health care is not one of its priorities.

Candler A. Willis