An answer to health care?

April 16, 1992

While it is true that "only health benefits are tied to the job," the proposal does little to untie this link. Unless full health-care payment coverage is completely disengaged from employment and made universally available, those without jobs, as well as those with employment which cannot provide these benefits, will still go without.

What is really at issue, however, is the escalating cost of health care. A plan which mandates care by a primary-care physician, usually a family doctor, with opportunity for referrals when required, will reduce health-care costs. How the payment is covered is a secondary issue. Let us address the root causes of cost escalation. Robert Oldham, Doswell, Va.

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