YOUR COMMENTS

Joe-
I disagree because:

Government run Medicare covers those who use the most health care. It is a successful program. Most people on Medicare are happy with it--it works.

The problem is the cost of health care has risen tremendously in the past decade and will continue to rise over the next decade. This affects all of us directly or indirectly.

Why is it OK that we pay such high insurance premiums to protect us when/if we get sick and these private companies use that money to pay shareholders, lobbyists, and obscene salaries to CEOs. That is health care under the private sector.

I don't want free anything for anyone. I want individuals and small businesses to get as good or better rates for health care as large employers do. Access to health care should be affordable-NOT FREE!
- Frances, Nashville, TN

Frances, I see no confusion. Most people understand that there is NOTHING the government can do more efficiently than private business. That is why communism has failed around the world. Public health care will cost 3x as much as estimated and the quality will go down. I agree changes need to be made, but what we don't need and can't afford are more entitlements for people who choose not to work.
- Joe, Manchester

There seems to be great confusion about what the public option is. My understanding of the Public Option is that some number of people (how many not yet determined)will be allowed to participate in the public option which will function like Medicare does 96- 97% of every dollar paid in would go out in the form of payment for services. Like other government programs the only money taken out will be for administration.

Currently, private insurers take around 17-18% out of every dollar for administration, advertising, lobbists, CEO pay and shareholders. We need the public option as well as other tools to drive down the costs of healthcare.

Here in Tennessee, one health care CEO makes around 47,000. per hour. This is immoral and wrong.

A friend of mine needed back surgery and sought a second opinion which her insurance paid for. She wanted an opinion on the type of "repair" proposed by her doctor. The second doctor she saw insisted that she do the tests (x-ray, etc) again at their facility, even though she had recent results as well as results from years of monitoring the condition of the disks in her back.

This is the stuff that has to stop!

Most people don't know the truth about health care until they get sick and have to fight to get what they thought they had been paying for all along. Do you think "for profit" insurance will be more or less likely to pay your claims than a government run plan not run for profit?

Health care needs reform. It's big and scarey, but don't believe the lies about letting the government get between you and your doctor because the for profit companies are already there.
- Frances, Nashville, Tennessee

Public Option (Gov run healthcare) will cost the users. Every procedure that is required will be taxed. Senior citizens are now getting the wrap. I have paid into Social Security from the very beginning of my working days and I will probably not receive full benefits because of a government that has run the social security full of waste and corruption. Now they want to ruin our healthcare also. No cannot let it happen.
- Brenda Moore, Charlotte, NC 28216

Well what do you know, now Senator Shaheen is in FAVOR of competition, saying it will reduce costs and provide better services, two weeks ago she was against competition for the Joint Strike Fighter engine, what's different now?
It appears we have a Senator who can't think for herself, just go along with whatever her leadership tells her.
One more question, if government run health care is going to be so good for us peasants, will members of congress choose the plan they force on us to replace the plan they now have in place for themselves and their families? Me thinks not.
- Bob, Bedford

Sen. Gregg is one of this countrys' best Senators. He is not a "yes man" to higher officials and has very intelligent opinions. I trust his judgement more than any of the plans I have heard or read about. If we can have a cap on medical lawsuits, malpractice insurance will not put doctors out of business and costs will go down. Everything else will then fall into place. We must be able to chose our plans and not have to wait for medical care which would be the case if we went with a public option. Hospitals cost a great deal to operate. If we want to keep the best health care institutions and doctors, we need to find a better way.
- Jackie A, Litchfield

All that is really needed is enforcement of insurance companies. Force them to pay on claims if there is no gross deceit on the part of the insured and do not allow them to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions. That's it. That's all that needs to happen.
- C, Manchester, NH

Guess we'll have to wait for Madame Pelosi to tell Shaheen what she's supposed to think before Jeanne weighs in on this subject.
- DP, Manchester

Gail and Ed - you libs are a dying breed right now. Senator Gregg has been one of our best senators and certainly has more common sense that Senator Shaheen.

Government Health Care will be the end of our great country. Hello Socialism and Marxism.
- Marc, Weare

Senator Gregg believes a government option will put a government bureaucrat between you and your doctor and thus he's opposed to it. And today there's no one between you and your doctor? Maybe, if you're uninsured. What planet is Senator Gregg living on? Does he not deal with insurance companies like the rest of us? I think he's way out of touch. The VA, Medicare, they work pretty well. I'm ready to give the government option a try.
- ed, londonderry

Gail, it is sad that you couldn't leave an intelligent opinion. Please educate yourself on the issue. I am a nurse in NH, and the public option has a high probability (if you understand economics) of putting many of our community hospitals out of business. Businesses who are already struggling because of the economy (this includes hospitals) will not be able to afford anything but the public option to offer their employees. Government management of our healthcare dollars does not work now. (Learn about medicare, VA hospitals, etc) Why would it work better with millions more people on the plan? We need reform but why tear down your whole house just because the roof leaks? In the future, if this public option passes, you can use your time waiting in line to educate yourself on any new legislation that might be in the wings.
- jem, rye

Happy Retirement Gregg! Go somewhere far away and leave politics alone. There have been enough lying bozos in office already, we don't need another repeat performance of the last miserable eight years. I think you know what I am getting at? Bye now.
- Gail L., Manchester