Opinion articles provide independent perspectives on key community issues, separate from our newsroom reporting.

Letters to the Editor

Carson letter: Governor’s health plan

The proposed substitute for Medicaid expansion as described by Governor Otter is ridiculously inadequate. Yes, it allows people to see a doctor, but as the program lacks prescription coverage, what exactly is the doctor supposed to do for them? The laying on of hands, perhaps? Treatment for diabetes and asthma (and most illnesses) requires prescribing drugs, for which there is no coverage. The prescription is utterly useless if the patient can’t afford to fill it. These are poor people who are already barely scraping by. This is lip service only and shirks any kind of real responsibility for addressing the problem.

Janine Carson, Boise

This story was originally published January 21, 2016 at 5:47 PM with the headline "Carson letter: Governor’s health plan."

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