No to total revamp

Regarding the Aug. 18 editorial on health-care reform and the public option ("Public Betrayal? Obama Could Kill Health Reform With Compromise"): I might suggest that a review of the Rasmussen and Gallup polls, which indicate that more than 50 percent of the population of this country is not in favor of government-run health care, is in order.

One need only look to Great Britain or to Canada to understand why that might be. There is absolutely no logical way that the government can reduce costs and increase coverage without increasing taxes across a broad base or rationing care, plain and simple. Your citation of Medicare as something to which a government plan may aspire is puzzling given that the system is bankrupt, on the hook to the tune of trillions of dollars. Government has no place in personal decisions about health care or "end of life" counseling, and most in this country would prefer to keep it that way.

Extending health insurance coverage to the uninsured could be accomplished quite simply and less expensively by redefining existing plans such as Medicaid. The United States has the best health-care system in the world, and 85 percent of the country is satisfied with their health care. Certainly there are areas that can and should be reformed, but why not address those rather than completely blow up the system for the sake of what is arguably 10 percent of the population?

CATHERINE CAPONI
Jefferson Hills