Letter to the editor: Where has personal choice, incentive gone in health care?

As I listened to an ad for a diet plan I realized that advertisers think we have no will power. Our employers buy into “preventive health” programs that include biometric screening, for example. To make sure we participate they provide incentives like gift cards, PTO days etc. Anyone would agree that prevention is really important but, I ask you: how many of us really need our employers to “supervise” us as we choose how to care for our bodies? We are able to make appointments and exercise by exerting our individual will, by our own choice and should not be coerced by having our health "monitored.”

Ever since tax breaks have been provided to employers who offer health insurance to their employees the government has been treating us as if they know what is best for our health. The result is government dictating what health plans should include like birth control and other treatments that many people do not need, yet are forced to pay for. For example those on Medicare, which determines where you must get treatments, precludes any “shopping around” for the lowest price. I frequently hear senior citizens who are amazed at the exorbitant cost of their healthcare treatments for which they pay small co-pays. I cringe when they state that “it was free” and want to tell them: it’s taxpayer funded. Where is true personal choice and incentive?

People are still outraged at bailing out those who just walked away from mortgages, as well as the continuous growth of government. This writer is fed up with wasteful government spending and its lack of respect for the taxpayer by constantly limiting our personal freedom. Please think carefully about your vote in November.

Linda Stanton - Woodbury

Tags: letters to the editor, opinion, updates