Readers Wrestle With Healthcare Inequalities and Want a Word With Congress

Letters to the Editor is a periodic feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We edit for length and clarity and require full names. Imbalance of Power — And Healthcare Why can members of Congress remain on full taxpayer-funded salaries during prolonged medical absences while millions of working Americans cannot afford to get sick? (Kennedy, Oz Contend Fraud Crackdown, Not Skyrocketing Prices, Led Millions To Leave Obamacare, Aug. 3.) Sen. Mitch McConnell’s current extended medical absence brings that disparity into sharp focus. He has missed dozens of Senate votes while continuing to receive his $174,000 taxpayer-funded salary. Meanwhile, I have a friend who works two jobs and still cannot afford her mortgage and utilities without a roommate. She does not even have basic medical insurance. She earns too much to qualify for government assistance but not enough to comfortably afford insurance along with the basic cost of living. What happens if she gets seriously ill? She doesn’t have the luxury of taking months off to recover while her income continues. She could lose her income, her home, and everything she has worked for simply because she got sick. Yet she i...