Somebody has to pay the medical

bills of working people who do not get group insurance from an employer

and cannot afford to pay a multi-thousand dollar medical bill. More small

companies each year stop offering group health insurance because of the

cost.

What can be done to stop or

almost stop this problem? Congress can allow the uninsured to buy into

Medicaid at a sliding scale. The Medicaid cost will go up but that amount

can be spread among all taxpayers instead of just the insured, and the

cost will go down because people will go to doctors for care instead of

emergency rooms. They will also get preventive care instead of waiting

until the high cost of caring for a true emergency.

Congress can also make it illegal

for insurance companies to ask about or base rates on preexisting conditions.

They can also require that all individuals in a state seeking individual

policies be put in one large group and base the pricing for them like

they do all groups seeking medical insurance.

Please write Senator Zell Miller,

Senator-elect Saxby Chambliss and your Congressman and tell them to make

Medicaid reform a major issue during the upcoming Congress.

Chris Hagin

Fayetteville