Letter to the editor: Medicaid, change, school board, cancer, rent, Republicans

Medicaid expansion

The Right to Life of Idaho state board of directors has taken the unanimous position that it opposes Medicaid expansion on the sole basis that it will be used to expand backdoor funding and opportunities for additional abortion services, abortion-causing drugs and additional funding to Planned Parenthood.

Medicaid presently covers contraceptive services under the Idaho state plan. With Medicaid expansion, thousands more women will have access to contraceptives through Planned Parenthood, as Planned Parenthood is eligible to receive Medicaid funds. Many of these contraceptives known as the “morning after” or “emergency contraceptive drugs” are potential abortion-causing drugs — otherwise known as abortifacients.

The difference between preventing life and destroying life is extremely significant to many women. Women deserve to know that difference.

The expansion in government funding will serve to expand Planned Parenthood’s ability to increase abortion services, including funding for these potential abortifacients at taxpayer expense.

Healthcare for a mother and her unborn child should never include killing her unborn child by abortion, and Idaho’s taxpayers should never be forced to pay for abortion-causing drugs.

This November, please vote No on Proposition 2, Medicaid expansion in Idaho for the sake of the “poor” disenfranchised and choice-less children in the womb.

Time for change

I see little difference in today’s Republican and Democrat system that rules this nation of ours. They do little more than point finger and place blame. Too many people blame our government for any and everything. Has it ever occurred to them, blaming the government is little more than blaming themselves if they voted for either party members that runs the “government” they blame and distrust? I read and hear the need for change. It is apparent that changing from a D to an R, or an R to a D, hasn’t worked all that well. Perhaps then it’s time to “change” how and who one voted for.

School board election

Why does the Boise Independent School District hold a separate election to select new board trustees? Is there some reason this election cannot be included in the general election to be held just eight weeks later in November? A quick back-of-the-envelope calculation finds that the cost of running this election with some 40 polling places is more than $15,000. With just 4,000 citizens participating, that works out to about $4 per voter. I suggest that most of that cost could be saved to use for maintenance, school supplies or any of a multitude of expenses that actually directly contribute to educating students if this election is combined with the existing and better-attended election in November.

Colorectal cancer

Senator Crapo can support an easy fix to save lives from colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer is preventable if caught early, so routine colonoscopies are critical starting at age 50. Skipping screenings could result in a later-stage colorectal cancer diagnosis that’s more expensive to treat and less likely to be cured.

Colon cancer runs in my family. My grandmother and aunt both died, my father and uncle had surgery and survived.

Medicare pays for screening colonoscopies, but if a polyp is found and removed, the whole point of the procedure, it’s categorized as a diagnostic exam. Patients must pay a share of the cost, which can be up to $300 out of pocket. This loophole was never intended and it’s time we fix it.

I’m asking Senator Crapo to co-sponsor the Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act in Congress. This bipartisan legislation will ensure seniors have the same access to colorectal cancer screening as those on private insurance.

This will result in fewer cases of cancer, reduced cost of treating the disease and most importantly, fewer needless deaths from a disease that is easily detected and prevented.

Rent increases

Rents have soared while wages have remained stagnant. Where’s the outcry? Have we succumbed to corporate brainwashing, such as, “That’s the market-rate.” Wages aren’t going up high enough to mitigate the rent hikes that are happening in Boise. People are spending more than half of their earnings on rent.

Minimum wage is $7.25 per hour here. For a full-time job that is $1,160 per month. If rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $800 and your take-home pay is $,1050 that leaves just $250 for those pesky things like utilities and food.

In the late 1970s I had a studio apartment on O’Farrell Street that was $85 a month, utilities included. I earned approximately $500 monthly as a bookkeeping clerk. That was less than a fifth of my take-home pay.

In the late 1980s I rented a two-bedroom apartment for $235. I had a roommate, so I paid $117.50. I was a food server and my take-home pay was approximately $500 monthly.

When I returned to Boise, in 2015, I rented a one-bedroom apartment for $670. July 2017, my rent went up to $725 and March 2018 it went up to $785.

Rent should be in line with wages.

Republican voters

During the primary, there were several letters suggesting ways to break the Republicans dominance in Idaho. The answer is to start asking Republican voters, “Why do you vote against Democrats?” Inevitably most will say “I always vote Republican.” However, ask enough voters and you will find some who answer: “I would vote for Democrats but for ....” These are the voters you need to sway to break the Republican stranglehold. I am one of these voters, I would vote for Democrats but for their positions on abortion and religious liberty. I am pro-life, and I believe that the First Amendment protects every religious practice that doesn’t threaten the life, health or property of others. I have only seen these positions espoused by Republicans and so I vote for them, even though I oppose their “energy drink” plutocratic economic policies. Of course I’m just one voter, and my turn-off may not be representative of all would-be Democrats. Once you’ve identified the most common turn-offs, and adjust your platform to provide a middle ground that wins these voters without alienating your base, you can begin to whittle down Republican numbers and win more seats.