Dear Editor: I agree wholeheartedly with Colin Clarke’s letter last week on the subject of healthcare.

Given the healthcare system we have now, you have insurance and drug company employees slapping hands and high-fiving in celebration whenever someone with breast or prostate cancer walks through the door, since they know they will be extracting some serious money from them. Of course, I’m being facetious here, but it is just about that bad.

Recently they have developed a drug to cure hepatitis C, but unfortunately the pills cost $1,000 each. Who can afford that? How can the CEO’s of drug companies sleep at night?

It sure would be interesting if we could vote on having the British or Australian healthcare models: “free healthcare for everyone with no paperwork.” They spend less per capita on their systems than we currently do.

Would we have to raise taxes to implement such a system in our country? Perhaps, but it would be worth it to get rid of the current ridiculous system.

Jack Russell Downey

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Published: Aug. 7, 2014 - Volume 13 - Issue 17