If you think government-run health care is a good idea, consider this. A $1.5 billion provision slipped into the stimulus bill sets the stage for the government to decide what health care you can or cannot have. It's called comparative research and it is used in all countries with government health insurance. It is used to deny treatment if the government decides the help you need is too expensive or you are not worth spending money on.

You and your doctor will not decide what care you get; the government will decide. They will ease us into this gradually, but don't fool yourself into thinking we will be any different than any country that has government controlled insurance, where people wait endlessly for help and their citizens come to the U.S. for help. We are the one hope in the world. Let's not lose this freedom. We will pay not only in money, but in lives.

I am sure the president, high ranking officers, senators and representatives won't give up their very generous benefits and join us in the policy they are so anxious to foist on the rest of us.

Write and ask them, but don't try to hold your breath until you get an answer.

Lois Bowen

Coquille