Pay tribute with McCain Care | Readers respond

Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer. This is a hero who has devoted his life to serving the American people, from his service as a decorated Navy pilot to his tenure in the U.S. Senate. He is a true statesman, willing to reach across the aisle in the best interest of his country over his party.

I can't think of a more fitting tribute than members of Congress putting aside their differences to come up with a bipartisan health-care solution and calling it McCain Care.

— Peggy Wilson, Drexel Hill

No American can deny the service John McCain has given to this country, enduring the horrors of torture in war and serving in the Senate. His maverick style often put him at odds with Democrats and Republicans — he was always thinking of what was best for this country. We truly wish him the best in his battle against brain cancer.

But before we keep showering him with accolades, let us take a step back and look at his record. As a presidential candidate and chairman of the Armed Services Committee, McCain has advocated vociferously, for stationing our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and to engage Libya, Syria, Iran, Ukraine, Crimea, Georgia, and others. These conflicts have resulted in endless car bombings, IED explosions, and presidential greetings at Dover Air Force base with flag-draped coffins. He is relentless about the brutalities of torture, but engaging our military around the world has been torture for America.

To the last line of Christine Flowers' column, "Get well, sir. Your country still needs you," I would add, "at home and out of the Senate."

— Larry A. Wernick, Ambler, lawernick@gmail.com

For those who think health care is only about preexisting conditions and Medicaid, you and Congress need to think again.
I'm a 60-year-old, healthy, fit female; I'm not on any medication. I am dutiful with my preventative health-care visits. I have had continuous medical coverage for more than 30 years, yet, since Obamacare was instituted, I have watched my monthly premiums rise from $375 to $815, with a $6,000 deductible. It's to the point that were I to get sick, I couldn't afford to see the doctor. It is no longer health insurance, but more like catastrophic insurance.

Senators should come down from their ivory tower and see how real people live.

— Michele Recupido, Bensalem, mmrecupido@verizon.net

The commentary by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Bucks) and Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro argued for a need to "Expand Medicaid's ability to cover inpatient substance abuse care" (Monday) by supporting House bill 2938. A bipartisan support of this bill would no longer restrict Medicaid coverage of inpatient treatment in facilities with more than 16 beds for individuals age of 21 to 64 with substance-use disorder.

Your poignant editorial ("Get drugs out of the mail," Monday) revealed how easy access to mail-order drugs exacerbates an opioid crisis that claimed 4,642 lives in Pennsylvania last year. Meanwhile, Republican proposals for a new health-care system would cut the Medicaid program dramatically. The irony is obvious.

I contend that Obamacare was never intended as a cure-all for America's health-care defects. The best way to address our health-care concerns should be a bipartisan approach that identifies and reforms the shortcomings of Affordable Care Act. Partisan bickering will simply continue to shortchange those who need help the most: the average American.

— Patrick Machayo, Coatesville, pat_mayo3@yahoo.com

Once again, a third party has created a policy that interferes with the patient-physician relationship ("IBC cuts pay for doctors," Tuesday). This Independence Blue Cross policy will affect any service that is provided in addition to the office visit and can include vaccinations, joint injections, skin biopsies, and infusions. The end result is that these services will not be offered on the same day as an office visit, and office visits will not be offered on the same day as these services. This might mean two days off from work, two copays, two waits in the waiting room, for services that physicians now provide at one visit.

The only way that decisions will change is if there is enough of a public outcry. I urge people to complain to IBC, their legislators, and their employers. Silence indicates acceptance. It is time that we stand up to those whose policies hurt patient care.

— Mark Lopatin, M.D., chairman, Montgomery County Medical Society, Jamison, mlopatin@comcast.net

In an interview with columnist Salena Zito, Secretary of Energy Rick Perry was asked whether coal has really become cleaner as an energy source ("The mission: U.S. energy dominance," Thursday). His response: "I literally wiped my hand across the first floor of this [coal-burning Longview Power] plant [in Maidsville, W.Va.], and it looks like my hand looks right now wiping it across this tabletop. Totally clean."

With that logic I can power-wash under the hood of my truck to reduce emissions. Let's polish the sparkplugs too. That should save the environment.

Where do we get these people?

— David Plasket, Willow Grove