To the editor:

I read Mark Hirschey’s column denouncing health care reform but wondered why he took so many words to express a simple idea. Hirschey opposes health care reform because he has good insurance and can’t imagine life is different for anybody else. All he really needed to say was “Who needs reform — I’ve got mine!”

To fellow cancer victims who don’t know they have cancer because they lack insurance and can’t visit the doctor for a diagnosis, Hirschey says: “Who cares — I’ve got mine!” To cancer patients who have discontinued treatment because a job loss cost them their insurance, Hirschey again says “Who cares — I’ve got mine!” And what about people unlucky enough to have multiple bouts of cancer, but who can’t get further treatment because they have reached the maximum lifetime payout on their insurance? Hirschey’s belief is “Who cares — I’ve got mine!”

At least Hirschey leavens his indifference with humor. He asks who would entrust their health care to the government, but we already know the answer: Mark Hirschey! He extols the excellent care he received at two government hospitals, KU Med and the University of Minnesota Medical Center. He appears genuinely pleased that government took money from others to help meet his medical needs at these institutions, an action he may view as a natural extension of the government paycheck he receives from KU and his government-subsidized insurance.

It seems that Hirschey doesn’t oppose government action to help people; he only opposes action to help people who aren’t him.