To the editor:

I attended the Health Care Access benefit this month at their address 1920 Moodie Road. and subsequently toured the Heartland Leo Center in the Riverfront Mall and was impressed by the facilities and services offered by both nonprofit healthcare agencies. These agencies are an asset to Douglas County as a reflection of growing unrest in this country of health care availability.

Since 1965 with the advent of Medicare health coverage for senior citizens, health care has become a “right” for all U.S. and non-U.S. citizens (not just a “privilege” to those individuals that could afford health care, as in former years). The present system of federal coverage and private health care insurance and HMOs are increasingly restrictive and financially straining corporate America and individual citizens.

Active and retired employees are threatened with loss of pensions on retirement and reduction or loss of health care insurance. The administrations of the past and present are unwilling to address these ominous directions because of increased federal or state taxes.

Both the Leo Center and Health Care Access require our attention and support until some other form of health care availability is present in the U.S. Both agencies accept what the patient can afford and supplement with government or state grants. Heartland-Leo also is a Christian church-sponsored agency that does submit insurance claims in contrast to HCA. I hope the citizens of Douglas County also will consider supporting one or both of these agencies.

Dr. Robert Carnahan,

Lawrence