Wednesday, July 11, 2001

Re: "We need a strong patients' bill of rights now."

In the July 4, 2001, edition of The Citizen I read a biased, inaccurate. anti-capitalist, pro-communist (now called Progressive or Green) piece of propaganda written by an East German refugee named Herr Rückl, M.D., Ph.D.

Herr Rückl chided the U.S. to grow up and approve "Patients' Bill of Rights" and join other enlightened countries, like the U.S.S.R. and East Germany, that had as part of their constitutions the right to food, the right to housing, the right to healthy environment, the right to health care, etc.

If the U.S. is to emulate the mature U.S.S.R., let's compare the two (Source: World Health Organization via WorldAlmanac 2000.): Life expectancy in U.S.S.R. for men is 61 and for women is 73. Life expectancy in U.S.A. for men is 74 and for women is 79. Why would Herr Rückl wish the U.S. to emulate the U.S.S.R.?

Closer to home, tens of thousands of Canadian citizens come to the U.S. each year to receive life-saving procedures that are unavailable in Canada's socialized health care system where "health care is a right." Each year hundreds of thousands of illegal Mexican immigrants cross our border to receive health care unavailable in their own country. If illegal aliens can receive health care, why can't legal citizens obtain health care? Do you suppose the government and the mainstream media are lying to U.S. citizens?

Why does Herr Rückl wish the U.S. to emulate Canada or Mexico?

Dear readers, there are some very scary laws being contemplated by our legislators and it behooves you to write, e-mail, or call your representatives and ask them the medical choice litmus question: "If you, as my elected representative, had the taxpayer money to enroll me in a medically inferior medical program like Russia's health care system for $4,000 per year per person, or, enroll me in a medically superior medical program like Kaiser Permanente HMO for $3,000 per year per person, which medical program would you select for me?"

Georgia senators Max Cleland and Zell Miller have made it quite clear by their recent vote that they would select the inferior Russian health care plan for their U.S. constituents, but for themselves they will select a superior health care plan similar to Kaiser.

While the so-called "Patients' Bill of Rights" as it is now written is an advertising masterstoke, it is toxic medicine for the U.S. Wake up, America!

Bill Bryan

Peachtree City

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