To the editor:

A public insurance option is critical if there is to be any lasting impression on our current health insurance industry. Any profit-oriented business is going to try to make as much money as possible by charging as much as it can for its goods and services and by keeping business expenses to a minimum; nothing wrong with that in most cases.

In the for-profit health insurance business, however, that translates to charging as much as possible and paying out as little as necessary. For-profit health insurance companies appear to look for ways to avoid paying claims, to penalize those that have used their health insurance by raising premiums excessively, and canceling policies of those who need the coverage the most.

For those people with pre-existing medical issues, which make them uninsurable by private health insurance companies, the state of Kansas has high-risk health insurance policies available through the Kansas Health Insurance Association. Unfortunately the premiums are extremely high. For example, for a 54-year-old non-smoking male the premiums are $684.68 a month, ($8,216.16 a year) with a deductible of $1,500 and coinsurance requirements up to $5,000. This is their most comprehensive plan for just one person!

America needs a public health insurance option as an integral part of health reform. All Americans should be able to count on a health insurance system that is fair and balanced, on a system that isn’t just about profit and loss.