Letters to the Editor: June 2009

Health care overhaul

I grew up in the United Kingdom with the National Health Service [“The Road to Health Care Reform,” Opinion, May]. I had to choose a general practitioner whose office was within five miles of my home (U.K. doctors make some home visits). Sometimes this meant there was only one choice. If I needed hospitalization, the doctor chose the hospital and the hospital chose the specialist or surgeon. I never questioned this system because it was the norm.

I will be most interested to see whether Americans are willing to trade their freedom of choice for affordable health care. —Fiona Hammond, Laytonsville, Md.

Stress buster

I was surprised that in your article on stress and strategies for beating it [“Stress: Why It’s Making You Sick”] you didn’t mention the practice of tai chi. Through calm, controlled breathing, it alleviates stress, helps balance and promotes healing and wellness.

The article recommended yoga, in which some positions can be difficult. Tai chi movements require mental and physical focus, but they’re gentle. —Bobbie Bookhout, Tempe, Ariz.

Defining ‘outrage’

I think it’s an outrage that the Bulletin considers it an “outrage” [“Cigarette Savings Go Up in Smoke,” In the News] that an 80-year-old Massachusetts woman is being forced to pay taxes on the cigarettes she was foolish enough to buy from an Indian reservation in New York (and, presumably, smoke). She says, “It’s just a terrible abuse of power”—but what about her own terrible abuse of her lungs?

As long as governments need to tax us to provide important governmental services, I’d prefer they tax cancer-causing products like cigarettes, rather than necessities. —Richard Siegelman, Plainview, N.Y.

We appreciate hearing from you. Write to: Bulletin Editor, Dept. RF, 601 E St. N.W., Washington, DC 20049; or e-mail to: Bulletin@aarp.org. Please include your address and phone number.