Health care act will cut costs

The health care reform Affordable Care Act will lower our medical costs in two major ways. When everyone has insurance, then your medical bill will not be inflated to cover those whose do not pay. Also, insurance companies can no longer make 50 percent or 60 percent profits. Insurance companies must provide refunds to their insured if they do not pay at least 80 percent toward medical costs in any given year -- limiting their profits to no more than 20 percent. So, if you already have medical insurance, it should cost less in the near future. If you do not have insurance, a time will come when you wish you did.

Any legislator who is against the Affordable Care Act should be retired from "public" service and replaced. This act is good for the people of the United States for several reasons and if our legislators do not want to work for the people who elected them, then replace them.

-- Steven Lyons

Anchorage

'Free' care carries high tax bill

Re: "Britain's health system lets nation's people sleep at night" (Letters, July 5). The letter writer states that he had to pay for his medical services in the U.S., whereas if he were home in the U.K., they would have been free. I ask this gentleman, how much do you pay in taxes and do you also carry private insurance?

Most Europeans pay huge personal taxes for their "free" medical care. As to his admission that there are waiting lists for non-emergency operations -- who determines which subject gets the operation, the government or the subject's physician? But, then again, the physician is the government in those countries with national (I say socialized) insurance. Do we want to be "subjects" or free citizens? Nothing is free.

-- Roberta Townes

Anchorage

Salute for Denali veterans

What a juxtaposition on Thursday's front page! A young woman, Holly Brooks, wins the 3,022-foot Mount Marathon women's event, and directly below is chronicled the almost dream of wounded vets reaching the top of 20,328-foot Mount McKinley.

Not to take away any glory from those who had the option to run the Mount Marathon race unfettered, but the motivation of those with multiple amputations, technical obstacles and Mother Nature's wrath is, to me, one of the most inspirational stories I have read. My hat is off to them and all of the other vets from every war. Bravo Zulu.

-- Cherie Northon

wife of a Marine and mother of a Marine

Anchorage

Parents don't owe anything

How dare Philip Green make the declaration that parents of military-age kids who did not serve in this decade's ill-conceived wars owe money to those who signed up to do so. If he and his rich cronies want to spend their money that way, that's fine. Just don't tell me how to spend mine. If they want to do something beneficial, maybe they should put their money toward helping clean up kids in the 17-24 age group whom the military doesn't want because of physical, drug or education issues. I don't believe in his ridiculous plan and I wouldn't do it.

-- Steve Carson

Anchorage

Dog day of independence

Who says America isn't an exceptional nation? What other country would celebrate its Independence Day with hot dog eating contests?

-- Rick Wicks

Anchorage