Letters to the Editor | March 5, 2026

You can’t have it both ways. In June: I completely obliterated Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Last week: We need to go to war with Iran because its nuclear capabilities are a threat to us. Not to mention an alternative reason — an Epstein diversion that has already taken the lives of U.S. troops and the deaths of innocent Iranian citizens, schoolgirls among them.

Carol Otis, Drexel Hill

As a physician with more than 50 years of experience, I read with great interest a recent op-ed noting that doctors are paid less by insurance companies for treating Black and Latino patients than white ones.

Inequality in healthcare delivery affects many American households, either directly or indirectly. But the causes described by the authors of the op-ed are multifactorial in origin and may not be the result of discrimination. Most doctors do not reject patients based on their insurance plans, but rather see anyone who’s scheduled.

One way to address the disparity cited by the authors might be by increasing the use of physician associates. I estimate that a third of the patients I saw over the course of my career could have been treated by a well-trained clinician without a medical degree. They are often called “physician extenders,” and they have considerable training — and often direct care experience — before being licensed to practice in a state. They work in conjunction with a medical professional for backup and oversight to protect the people we serve.

There are many benefits to using physician associates: They allow patients into the system of providers that would not occur because of overwhelmed schedules, they are able to operate without the prolonged and costly medical training and education that doctors endure, and they are reimbursed at a lower level consistent with the lesser illness risk that patients have during visits.

When the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010, millions were allowed access to our healthcare system, which overwhelmed existing medical providers. Funding for physician extenders was part of that bill. It was a start, but not nearly enough. We must increase funds for physician associates to address our nation’s growing need for more healthcare providers.

Donald Petroski, Medford

Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. is trying to come up with new money and new ways to create a positive and powerful way to teach our students. He seems to plan on closing, moving, and combining schools. I wish him luck — and he is going to need it to make this plan work. The parents rightly ask, “Where is the money?” My long and winding journey with the Philadelphia School District began with me in kindergarten in 1951 and ended when I retired from teaching first grade in 2003. After all those years with the district, I think I can answer the question from those who ask, “Where is the money?” There isn’t any money. There never was any money, and there probably will not be any money. Why? Ask the legislature in Harrisburg.

Sheryl Kalick, Philadelphia

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