On Wednesday, July 19, President Donald Trump made a statement to the assembled Republican senators. It included comments about a single-payer type of health insurance of the type that is very common in most advanced countries. He suggested that is what the Democrats really want.

There are two Senators commonly associated with that perspective — one Democrat, Elizabeth Warren, the other, Independent Bernie Sanders. That hardly reflects the majority of the Democratic Party and single-payer health insurance has never, to the best of my knowledge, been in the Democratic Party platform. In fact, Democratic Sen. Max Backus, who chaired testimony about health care during the Affordable Care Act process, would not permit any testimony supporting that concept.

President Trump also stated that adopting a single-payer system would take all of the federal budget and bankrupt the nation for sure. There are many sources online that dispute that claim. Yet it is obvious that something must be done. According to information provided online by the Kaiser Family Foundation and other sources, health care in the United States commands 18-19 percent of the national budget, compared to around 11 percent in other advanced countries; and U.S. citizens spend $9,000 per person compared to $3,000-$4,000 in those other countries.

It is my conclusion that either the president is non-informed, ill informed/misinformed or is lying again. Whichever the choice, that is pretty scary.

Richard Hotte, Poland

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