Regarding the so-called public option in health care reform, let's get our terminology right. What we are trying to reform is not the health care we get, but the cost of getting that care.

A recent writer is correct that both Medicare and Social Security are critical to our quality of life, but neither of them operates efficiently. Social Security, in a study several years ago, admitted to a 9.9 percent error rate. Estimates are that the fraud rate for Medicare is as much as one-third.

There is hope for Medicare since the inception of the Medicare Advantage Program, where the fraud rate is less than 5 percent. What's different about Medicare Advantage? The government pays for-profit private insurance companies to completely manage "the Medicare" for individuals who choose it.

Oh, did I forget, the out of pocket costs for folks on "Medicare Advantage" is less than that of the people on traditional Medicare. Did I also forget that it costs the government less for each patient who is on Medicare Advantage than those on traditional Medicare? Sounds like a good deal to me.

The insurance companies don't put business interests above everything else with Medicare patients. If the doctor says it is "medically necessary" and it is not prohibited by Medicare, it gets paid for. Ask people in England and Canada what they think of their government-run health care systems? You will find most of them trying to get into the United States for necessary medical procedures!

Don Klein

Kappa