Editor,

I was intrigued by Ed Drum’s letter concerning health care. Ed is a friend of mine, but friends can disagree and I will quibble with some of his details. The first point concerns the 23 million (22 in the Senate version) who will lose health care if Trumpcare becomes law.

Ed writes that “I reconcile this statement as inaccurate as 50 percent of those insured are not legal Americans.” Given that there are between 11 and 12 million illegals in the country, for Ed’s statement to be accurate all of them would have to have health care, in addition to another 1 million or so who apparently are illegal somewhere else but still take advantage of our health care.

You see the problem. Not to mention the fact that the Pew Center estimates that at least 70 percent of illegals do not, in fact, have health care of any sort.

Next Ed mentions that the Affordable Care Act is financially imploding and not really affordable. While it certainly is in trouble, much of that trouble is the result of the administration undermining the program.

Ed is right about Obamacare being expensive, which can be mitigated by follow-up legislation. Trumpcare, based on what we have seen to date, is certainly much less expensive, but only because there is so little actual health care involved.

Even President Trump, who initially lauded the house plan as “incredibly well crafted” and a “great plan” last week labeled it as “mean.” I would certainly agree with the president.

Then Ed resurrects tired myths about the Canadian health care system. Fortunately for Canadian women, Ed’s assertion that a woman in Canada cannot get a bone density scan unless she fractures a hip is just nonsense.

I encourage him to visit the Health Canada website or, indeed, one of the provincial websites like that of Ontario.

Ed suggests that the Canadian system is “fatally flawed.” Certainly there are problems, but Canadians, being sensible people, deal with them as they emerge rather than throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Ed concludes his missive with what sounds like a stirring call to arms, “If government controls health care, it controls you!”

Well, you know, Ed, I am on Medicare and you, I assume, are on Tricare, both of which are single-payer federal programs. I guess we are both controlled by the government, but, hey, at least we have health care.

BERND FISCHER

Oak Harbor