HEALTH CARE
Special report omitted mental health
I enjoyed reading your special report on health care reform (“Understanding what’s at stake,” Aug. 23). Although I feel this is a good and very informative piece, there are a few points that were not addressed.
There was no mention of mental health care at all. Your examples could have had one illustration for someone who has mental illness, and the coverage they might expect to receive. Inform us if reform for mental illness is the same as reform for physical illness.
There was no mention of health care reform to include or exclude the undocumented, or illegal aliens. Are they part of the 46 million uninsured? Under reform, will health care for the everyday citizen be any different than health care for U.S. senators or Congress? Will they be under the same provisions as the rest of us?
Bill Gropp, Woodstock
HEALTH CARE
Competition didn’t work out so well in this case
Interesting. In “Competition, not rationing, is cure” (Opinion, Aug. 20), Newt Gingrich tells us that competition is the cure to our health care problems. In a recent piece in the AJC, Piedmont Hospital and Emory both object to the establishment of a heart surgery facility at a nearby hospital. Well, so much for competition. How about monopoly and price fixing?
David Criner, Atlanta
POLITICS
Deal doesn’t get it, and should resign
Nathan Deal claims he did nothing wrong by asking for favors for his business (“Deal presses his firm’s need,” News, Aug. 23). An average citizen could not get the audience he arranged to protect his personal business. He has just disqualified himself from running for higher office, and should not be re-elected. He should resign.
Tom Shoupe, Woodstock
HEALTH
Best time is now to deal with leg problems
I recently read an article regarding various ways to help curb degeneration of the knee joint, and was pleased to see that it addressed the leg as a whole, rather than as separately working joints (“What to do when out-of-line legs worsen achy knees,” ajc.com, Aug. 18). Both exercises and orthotics are great ways to slow down and even prevent future problems. However, I am disappointed that chiropractic adjustments were not mentioned among these, despite multiple references to misalignment of the leg. Improperly moving or “stuck” joints anywhere in the pelvis, hips, knees or feet can change how a person walks, leading to degeneration and pain in areas that take on the additional stress.
Correcting these misalignments allows all the joints to work together better and keeps us healthier and more active. The best way to avoid the problem, no matter which methods are used, is to start now. Don’t wait for pain or other symptoms to appear, because the damage will already be done.
Katrina Mayes, Powder Springs