Democrats should be advancing reform of the system, not fighting for subsidies

The Democrats are fighting for government subsidies when they should be fighting to reform our broken health care system. Our current system is not about providing health care — it is a billion-dollar profit-making industry that is not meeting the health care needs of the American public. We need more physicians, and we need to return health care to doctors instead of placing doctors and patients at the mercy of health insurance companies.

I am fed up with the virtue-signaling of Democrats acting as if subsidies are the solution. Health care should not be a vehicle for big business to continue to reap billions in profits while we pay billions into it and still suffer unconscionably poor outcomes.

Judith Schiavone

Greenfield

Rising insurance costs have to be brought under control

The federal government shutdown over health care subsidies is another example of Washington dealing with the result of a problem and not the cause — out-of-control insurance increases. The Biden administration made the same mistake with student debt by offering debt forgiveness instead of dealing with the cause — out-of-control tuition and room and board increases.

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Since there is too much animosity between Republicans and Democrats over how to deal with our health care system, an independent board ought to be formed to determine why our costs are so high and what needs to be done to reduce them. This group would need to study how health care is implemented in other countries and why costs have risen significantly since the passage of the Affordable Care Act. This law was supposed to have reduced costs as larger numbers of people enrolled in Obamacare but instead it has helped drive insurance costs up.

Joe Palladino

North Andover

How ‘affordable’ is it really?

My question is why, under the Democratic Affordable Care Act, does it seem as if everyone needs a subsidy to make it affordable?

James W. Fett

Waltham

If Trump can improve on flawed ACA, let him bring it on

Democrats are aghast that the enhanced Affordable Health Care subsidies will expire on Dec. 31. Weren’t they temporary in the first place? The ACA is designed to be affordable only with taxpayer help, and that’s part of the problem.

President Trump says he has a better plan, but he has been saying that since his first term. So I hope he and his administration will put forth a better insurance plan for citizens who need the help.

Barbara Merriman

Danvers