Letter To The Editor: Council’s Action On Health Care

By RICHARD NEBEL
Los Alamos
 

This is a response to the County Council’s recent action on health care. I have a couple of chronic conditions that incur medical expenses that are about $3,000/month. Three years ago I didn’t have either of these problems, but when you get older medical issues can show up very quickly. Right now I have Medicare backed up by the Lab’s medical insurance. I don’t have co-pays or deductibles, so it works out well for me.

Since most people in Los Alamos do or did work at the lab, my health care benefits are pretty typical. I don’t want the State of New Mexico to mess that up. It does not give me great comfort that the same people who brought us the Department of Motor Vehicles now want to run our health care.

Furthermore, let me state the obvious: Any politician that tries to touch Medicare is going to get crucified. If you think that insurance companies and organizations like the NRA are difficult to deal with, try taking on the AARP.

Most people who are on Medicare also have fixed incomes and they aren’t going to like having their benefits cut and their costs increased. Most of them paid into Medicare for 40+ years and count on it to provide their health care coverage.

Finally, I have no delusions that my opinions are going to have any impact on this. All I can really do is react to these policies, if they are enacted. If I want to maintain my present coverage, all I have to do is to move my primary residence out of state. New Mexico isn’t a particularly “senior friendly” state anyway. If I moved my primary residence to my farm in Illinois, I also wouldn’t have to pay state income tax on my pension or my social security.

All of you politicians in the state legislature and on the County Council don’t have that option, since you have to live in the community you represent. I think that’s rather amusing.

 
 
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