Letters for March 20, 2023

Defining socialized medicine

Myron Molnau makes a great point in their recent letter (“Socialized medicine works for many,” March 15) that a person’s experience with the medical system will greatly influence their views on socialized vs. privatized medical care. However, I think that it is important to point out a few inaccuracies in the author’s understanding of “socialized medicine.”

Contrary to popular belief, Canada does not have socialized medicine but is a single-payer system. Socialized medicine is when the government owns and operates health care facilities, and the health care providers are government employees. This is not the case in Canada or with Medicare and Medicaid. In a single-payer system, the government usually foots the bill but the providers and facilities are privately run. The National Health Service in the United Kingdom is an example of socialized medical care. Costa Rica has both. Finally, we do have socialized medicine in the United States, thanks to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Elizabeth Abbey

Spokane

DeSantis comments

It is reported that Ron DeSantis feels that the U.S. should not become involved in “territorial disputes” such as Ukraine and Russia. So he characterizes Russia’s unprovoked invasion and bombing of Ukraine as a “territorial dispute”? I wonder if he considers Hitler’s invasion of the Sudetenland, Poland, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Austria simple territorial disputes. We saw what the results were by standing by and doing nothing until most of Europe was gobbled by the Nazi regime. We already know that Putin also has his sites set on Moldavia next. Moreover, his goal is to re-establish the Soviet empire.

They say that history repeats itself. Let’s not let it repeat itself and therefore DeSantis should not be worthy of being a future commander in chief of the U.S. Russia must be stopped in its tracks and we must not allow the new evil empire of Russia, Iran, North Korea and possibly China to become the new version of the Axis powers.

Barry Bauchwitz

Spokane Valley