New York Times

April 20, 2008

“Co-payments Go Way Up for Drugs With High Prices” (front page, April 14) makes it clear that the notion of insurance as a for-profit venture has almost completely eroded the notion of insurance as a social good in this country.

Charging patients suffering from multiple sclerosis or cancer hundreds of dollars each month for their drugs — on top of their insurance premiums — distorts the concept of insurance to the point where it is almost unrecognizable.

As a healthy person paying premiums, I would like to see the burden of these high-priced drugs be shared among all of us rather than concentrated on those already burdened by illness.

Let’s bring the notion of insurance as a social good back into the foreground. And while we are at it, let’s lower the price of prescription drugs for everyone by allowing the federal government to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for its Medicare purchases.