4 A
❘
WEDNESDAY EDITION
❘ MARCH 11, 2017
Siuslaw News
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
NED HICKSON , EDITOR
Opinion
❘ 541-902-3520 ❘
EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
The First Amendment
C
ongress shall make no law respecting an estab-
lishment of religion or prohibiting the free exer-
cise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of
the press, or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the Government for a
redress of grievances.
Congress is still asking the wrong healthcare question
the name, the more money
they can demand from insur-
ance companies), the same
two cost factors rise to the top
of the list:
Administrative costs.
Drug costs.
WHO studies, Consumer
Reports and even health econ-
omists like David Cutler at
other developed country. In
fact, if that $3 trillion health-
care sector was its own coun-
try, it would be the fifth-
largest economy in the world
according
to
Consumer
Reports.
And even though we are
outspending other industrial-
ized countries nearly 2-to-1,
the World Health Organization
(WHO) recently ranked the
U.S. a dismal 37th in health-
care systems — with The
Commonwealth Fund naming
us dead last among the top 11
industrialized countries for
overall healthcare dollar-for-
dollar.
In preparing this editorial, I
spent time researching the rea-
sons behind healthcare’s astro-
nomical costs in this country.
While there are many fac-
tors, from defensive medicine
practices for avoiding law-
suits, to the “branding” of
healthcare providers similar to
designer clothing (the bigger
While watching coverage of
the debate over healthcare in
our nation’s Capitol, I couldn’t
help but be struck by the irony
of knowing that the same peo-
ple haggling over what health
coverage Americans should
have access to are the same
people who have complete
coverage paid for by taxpayer
dollars.
It’s no wonder that the real
question that members of
Congress should be asking has
yet to be raised: Why is
healthcare so expensive to
begin with?
At $3 trillion a year, the cost
of healthcare in the U.S. is
nearly twice as much as any
The reason?
Billing specialists are need-
ed to determine how to bill the
varying requirements of multi-
ple insurers.
Why the need for multiple
insurers?
Because more and more,
single insurers can’t cover the
rising costs of medical proce-
From the Editor’s Desk
N ED H ICKSON
Harvard University agree that
those two factors are the driv-
ing forces behind skyrocket-
ing healthcare costs.
On average, 25 percent of
healthcare dollars go to cover
administrative fees. In an
interview on the PBS News
Hour, Cutler gave the example
of Duke University Hospital,
which has 1,300 billing clerks
and only 900 beds.
dures and drug prescriptions,
particularly at a time when the
median age in America is 40.
In most countries, govern-
ment negotiates drug prices
with drug makers, which vir-
tually guarantees lower prices.
However, when Congress cre-
ated Medicare Part D, it
specifically denied Medicare
the right to negotiate drug
prices. At the same time, the
Veterans Administration and
Medicaid aren’t under the
same restriction and pay the
lowest drug prices.
According to Congress’s
own Budget Office, if
Medicare Part D recipients
received the same discount as
Medicaid recipients, the feder-
al government would save
$116 billion over the next 10
years.
Imagine
the
money
American taxpayers would
save if those on Medicare
could benefit from the same
Medicaid-negotiated
drug
prices?
One has to wonder why
Congress is so opposed to
weighing in on controlling the
cost of prescription drugs and
healthcare as a whole, and
what — if any — role those
who benefit most from that $3
trillion industry play in that
decision.
As taxpayers, we are
America’s shareholders —
and Congress is our board of
directors. It’s time we ask why
the board of America, Inc.,
isn’t pursuing a more cost-
effective healthcare plan that
will guarantee a better return
on our investment, which in
this case literally puts lives at
stake physically and financial-
ly.
Rather than bickering over
ways to pay for the astronom-
ical costs associated with
healthcare and prescription
drugs, Congress needs to slow
down and address the issue of
controlling those costs in the
first place.
Establishing
affordable
healthcare isn’t about how to
pay more but about how to pay
less.
Write Siuslaw News editor Ned
Hickson at nhickson@thesiuslaw
news.com or P.O. Box 10,
Florence, Ore. 97439.
LETTERS
A FOOL ’ S ERRAND
Regarding Rosalie Wells’ letter “Tracking
the Russian Bear” (March 4).
All governments try to influence voting in
other nations. It is nothing new. Obama tried
to influence Brexit. The British tried to influ-
ence our 1940 elections to get us in the fight
against Germany.
They used wiretaps, recruited journalists,
invented fake stories and funded pro-British
groups — tactics that sound very familiar.
And they were our friends.
Ditto by Germany, but for the opposite rea-
sons.
The “Assessing Russian Activities and
Intentions in Recent US Elections” was
released by Office of the Director of National
Intelligence (ODNI) following Obama’s
request for a review by the Intelligence
Community.
Had the election turned out differently, I
believe it unlikely there would have been any
report — and even more unlikely it would
ever seen the light of day.
It’s high time people realize that segments
L ETTERS TO THE
E DITOR P OLICY
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lished.
of our news have been fake for a very, very
long time. If our attention is being pointed in
one direction, we are well advised to be look-
ing in the other. Redirecting attention is how
politicians, pickpockets and prestidigitators
stay in business.
The Russians have far more capability than
hacked amateurs like the DNC, Podesta and
HRC. If the FBI detected Russian finger-
prints, I say we should be looking elsewhere.
In my opinion, Russia pretty much had
things their own way during the previous
administration. Who benefits more from a
conservative U.S. government, Israel or
Russia? Expert professionals only leave the
clues they want found.
It’s a fool’s errand to have Congress inves-
tigate anything. They are so partisan they
can’t see an elephant or a donkey in front of
their noses. They gave us ObamaCare with-
out a second glance; the Warren Commission
stated Oswald acted alone then, 15 years
later, concluded a conspiracy to kill JFK.
And don’t forget that $20 trillion debt.
Under current workforce demographics,
every other child born today owes $150,000
at birth.
Please write your elected officials in
Congress, whether Democrat, Republican or
otherwise, and tell them to quit playing poli-
tics and work toward healthcare we can
afford, as well as a balanced budget, debt
reduction and full employment.
Ian Eales
Florence
C LEAR IRONY
There’s clear irony in watching members
of Congress work diligently to strip the
Affordable Care Act (ACA) of anything
worthwhile as those very same members of
Congress receive the benefits of a well-pay-
ing job that includes the best medicine tax-
payers can pay for — in the form of Single
Payer healthcare.
It’s more than ironic, actually.
It’s criminal.
Robin Bloomgarden
Eugene
Write to: editor@thesiuslawnews.com
USPS# 497-660
accountability over the toxic chemicals that
get into drinking water?
Will we be able to keep our water safe
where there are fracking wells?
The Superfund Act is also affected by these
cuts. It is critical for the protection of people
and neighborhoods that are affected by the
toxic releases of the chemical and petroleum
industries. The taxes that have been collected
from these industries are used to respond
directly to threatened releases and to clean up
abandoned and hazardous sites.
With de-regulation, where will the money
come from, and how will these corporations
be held responsible?
It is disturbing to see that agencies, sup-
posedly established for the benefit of all
American citizens, are now being run by men
whose only desire is to implement their own
authoritarian corporate biases.
Those who benefit are the CEOs whose
bonuses will insulate them from caring about
the rest of us.
Joann Henderson
Florence
P OLITICAL /E LECTION
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any such letter.
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John Bartlett
Jenna Bartlett
Ned Hickson
Susan Gutierrez
Cathy Dietz
Ron Annis
Jeremy Gentry
D ON ’ T GUT THE EPA
The EPA was established in 1970 by
Republican President Richard Nixon to create
an umbrella agency for federal research,
monitoring, setting standards and enforcing
the protection of the environment.
He, at least, had the wisdom to see how
important this is in our ever more industrial-
ized world.
Today, the aim of newly appointed EPA
head Scott Pruitt is to essentially set back
decades of environmental progress. The
administration is cutting the EPA budget by at
least 25 percent from programs that were
passed in a bi-partisan Congress.
Even some Republican members of
Congress are objecting to these Draconian-
style measures.
Pruitt said in the confirmation process that
the states, and not the federal government,
should regulate environmental policies. But
these cuts apparently translate to 35 to 40 per-
cent for the states — and sometimes as much
as 100 percent.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) budget is being cut
by $1 billion. These are the experts the public
depends on for weather satellites, climate
research and coastal management.
Think Gulf oil spill; NOAA was there to
manage and direct the clean-up.
The new administration is riddled with
these kinds of catch-22 concerns.
It seems to me that Pruitt’s aim is to gut the
EPA of any regulatory power and create a
“vending machine for industry.”
He is first and foremost tied to the oil
industry and has shown it by canceling a for-
mer request to the fossil fuel industry for
information about its methane emissions (a
dangerous greenhouse gas).
Without data, it will be difficult to prove
the extent of damage on the air we breathe
and changes in our climate.
Donald Trump campaigned to protect our
air and water. Yet, he eliminated The Clean
Water Rule, jeopardizing the streams, rivers,
lakes and wetlands that feed the water sup-
plies of 117 million Americans.
Will Big Oil be held accountable for
pipeline spills? Will there be any control or
Pres. Donald Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461
TTY/TDD Comments: 202-456-6213
www.whitehouse.gov
202-224-5244
541-431-0229
www.wyden.senate.gov
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley
313 Hart Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3753/FAX: 202-228-3997
541-465-6750
www.merkley.senate.gov
Gov. Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, OR 97301-4047
Governor’s Citizens’ Rep.
Message Line 503-378-4582
www.oregon.gov/gov
U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (4th Dist.)
2134 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6416
541-269-2609/ 541-465-6732
www.defazio.house.gov
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
State Sen. Arnie Roblan (Dist. 5)
900 Court St. NE - S-417
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1705
FAX: 503-986-1080
Email:
Sen.ArnieRoblan@state.or.us
State Rep. Caddy McKeown
(Dist. 9)
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1409
Email:
rep.caddymckeown@state.or.us
West Lane County Commissioner
Jay Bozievich
125 E. Eighth St.
Eugene, OR 97401
541-682-4203
FAX: 541-682-4616
Email:
Jay.Bozievich@co.lane.or.us