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Letters To The Editor

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 23, 2009

Let Medicare Negotiate

I keep my Medicare policy, plus my supplementary insurance policy, because I know that if I get cancer or another major disease, Medicare will not call me in the middle of the treatment to tell me my benefits have expired. HMOs are for-profit businesses whose main concern is profit, which means spending as little money as possible for clients.

People in the U.S. pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. Pharmaceutical companies say this is necessary for research and development. These companies have subsidiaries overseas. Much of this money is for advertising, and deducted as a business expense for income tax.

The Veterans Administration negotiates prices with pharmaceutical firms and pays much lower prices than Medicare, which is not allowed to negotiate by law. Now is an opportunity for the president and Congress to rectify this during this recession.

STANLEY ORING

Tampa

Shut The Door First

As I watched the AIG hearings, I am sorry to say that I have lost a lot of faith in my elected leaders. Dems and Republicans alike are expressing their outrage, trying to get their sound bites on the news coverage. They all seem to know exactly what should have been done after the fact. So why didn't they do it?

It seems our leaders in Congress are always closing the barn door after the "donkey" has escaped. I am tired of hearing them say, "Mistakes have been made, but let us learn from them and move on." How about trying a little harder not to make the mistake in the first place?

DEBORAH GREEN

Sun City Center

Clothing Optional

As I was doing my laundry, I listened to the washing machine fill with water and wondered just how much water it took to wash a full load of clothes. I opened the lid of the machine and saw what I believed was at least eight gallons.

A very good solution to our water shortage would be for everyone to go nude or at least in our underwear. Sure, there are people who don't want to see some people nude or barely dressed. But since it would give us more drinking water, wouldn't it be worth it?

DEBBIE MOORE

Plant City

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