Paul Krugman
Much as I like Paul Krugman, I have to say that his knee-jerk criticism in his Monday Jan. 15 column of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed universal health care program barely hours after it was announced leads me to conclude that he’s clueless when it comes to health care. Krugman, a Princeton economist, clearly favors a single-payer system “similar” to Medicare. More about that in a minute.
Krugman contends the Governator’s proposal was too “complex.” Maybe the east coast smog is getting the New York Times columnist. The California proposal, modeled after one enacted in Massachusetts, is fairly simple: everyone has to buy health insurance. If they can’t afford it, the state will subsidize the premium. Why not let the program be implemented, to see if it works? The fact is, the public is now too distrustful of government to support a federally run single-payer system. And liberal democrats are introducing a universal health care proposal in the U.S. Senate this week that similarly relies on private health care policies.
As for complexity, I buy a health policy and deal with a single company. Nice and simple. My mother, who is on Medicare, is another story altogether. She has four policies – Medicare Part A which covers hospitalization, Medicare Part B which covers physician services, a private Medigap insurance policy that covers everything Medicare does not pay (which is a lot!), and, now, Medicare Part D, her prescription drug plan. Now that’s complex!
Richard J. Schneider
Denver
This letter has not been edited.