Reid hurt reform’s chances

What a shame. Thanks to Democratic Senate Leader Harry Reid, our first real chance for needed health care reform may have slipped past us. Thanks to his inclusion of the federal government-run “public option” plan, Democrats, independents and Republicans are lining up to defeat the current health care reform bills.

This proper bipartisan effort to sink the current health care bills is with the knowledge there is no way the taxpayers can afford to pay for the proposed public health care plan.

What is needed is real health care reform that will eliminate pre-existing conditions as a disqualifier for insurance coverage, allow insurance portability and a person’s choice in health care insurance coverage, as well as real efforts to reduce health care waste and fraud.

Additionally, the plan needs to allow interstate insurance companies competition and provide the majority of U.S. citizens with reasonable and affordable health insurance.

Please join this registered nurse in writing your federal senator asking him or her to vote no on the current health care bills and then get back to work and write a bill that addresses the current problems without creating more big government programs, problems and adding to the growing federal debt.

Michael Cloke

Clarkston