The rhetoric on both sides of the health-care issue is nearly hysterical. I accept that the current system must be changed for two reasons: skyrocketing costs and a significant number of people who do not have health care. If there are other reasons, I have not been able to identify them.

As a retired businessman I can tell you from extensive experience that cutting costs always comes down to less service and fewer people.

Certainly tort reform would also help somewhat.

What I see as a Medicare recipient is the medical industry taking advantage of a government-run program that has inadequate oversight and unqualified people trying to manage the effort.

The uninsured, in many cases, receive care through emergency rooms. This could be addressed through a health clinic system run by doctors who borrowed to pay for their education -- as a way to pay back their loans and also to be paid.

Catastrophic health care insurance could at least be funded in part by the government. I do have significant issues with our paying for the health care of illegal aliens, and I believe they should not be eligible for government programs. Remember, the American public pays for emergency room care of indigents and illegals.

My problem with the current 1,000-plus-page bills being proposed is that they are trying to reform totally a health-care system that offers the best medical practices in the world, when what is needed is a refinement of our existing system. Also, this incessant rush to complete a piece of legislation as complex as this is truly unconscionable. It is time to step back, take a deep breath and evaluate what is needed.

Patrick McLaughlin

Aberdeen