What Insurance Can't Cure
While I agree with the point Tom Keane makes about Americans as gullible healthcare consumers ("Perspective," October 8), I would like to add two observations from personal experience as a healthcare professional. One: Many people assume that any and all medical information they find on the Internet is infallible. This is not the case. They still need to use critical thinking skills and question the source of medical advice, especially on the Web. Two: Even if all of the state's residents acquire health insurance, it does not mean that coverage is adequate. It is likely that many of those seeking coverage will be forced to accept high deductibles, which will leave many folks unable to afford routine care anyway. So much for "health maintenance."
FAYE MCNALL
Somerville
I was dismayed at the manner in which you lumped acupuncture into the same category as aromatherapy and other so-called placebos. As a long-term sufferer of chronic tension headaches and TMJ, I was desperate to find a treatment that would actually get to the root cause of my pain, not just treat the symptoms. Since beginning regular acupuncture treatments two years ago, I have experienced a dramatic change in both the frequency and intensity of headaches. Acupuncture has gained wide attention in this country because of its effectiveness.
KATHY RENTSCH
Worcester
I write to you as a physician homeopath. I realize Tom Keane's article is meant more as an opinion rather than a news item, but it is a shame that his opinion, which he writes about quite skillfully, is marred by factual errors. Although he seems to regard most alternative medicine as basically worthless - he throws together acupuncture, homeopathy, aromatherapy, chelation therapy, and vitamins as "quacky" and no more effective than placebos - the facts indicate that for homeopathy and acupuncture, at least, there is a bounty of scientific evidence to support both of them.
DR. MARK BRODY
Providence
Any chance of writing an article after the universal health insurance plan has been in effect for a year or two, when you can compare the estimated costs of the program with the actual costs? It will likely be the Big Dig redux.
JERRY CASSIDY
Plymouth
Tom Keane finds few links between individual health behaviors and broader healthcare policy when in fact such connections abound. In fact, advancing public health policy - the prevention of disease through collective societal action - ensures the conditions in which individuals can be healthy. So rather than dismissing the historic 2006 Massachusetts Health Care Reform Law, exploring its full potential can bring us all closer to the goals Keane endorses.
Overall, in addition to improving access to care, this law represents a major opportunity for prevention. Primary care providers can counsel newly enrolled patients about unhealthy behaviors. Also, for Medicaid (MassHealth) clients, a new "wellness benefit" will offer incentives for smoking cessation, cancer screening, and other preventive measures. Indeed, the law offers multiple avenues for reducing health disparities while improving the quality of health for all. In short, reaffirming our commitment to prevention through public health can leave a legacy for generations come.
DR. HOWARD K. KOH
Harvard School of Public Health Boston
Editor's note: The writer is a former Massachusetts commissioner of public health.
TEACHERS AS . . . PEOPLE?
I got a chuckle out of Alison Lobron's article about teachers encountering their students outside of class ("Coupling," October I am a teacher, too, reentering the dating world as I go through a divorce. The story reminded me a picture book about a teacher animal form) who the children think never leaves the classroom after school. The students are worried that she sleeps under her desk with no pillow or blanket, so they bring these items to make her comfortable. When the teacher figures out what is going on, she invites all the students to her house for dessert to show them that, yes, she does have a life outside of school.
JOYCE SILBERMAN
Needham
Alison Lobron: Great column, as always, but getting seen in a cafe? That's nothing. Wait until you are sunning on a beach at 45, and, you guessed it, here they come tramping toward you: two boys you had Spanish class last year. It's not easy conversation. You are convinced afterward that the brown spots on your legs will be fodder party conversation for years. It's not pretty. Always remember vacations as far away as possible from your classroom!
ELLEN GAUDIANO
Methuen
As a senior in high school, I can relate to both the student's view and the teacher's view on life outside the classroom. As I was reading, was reminded of my sophomore/junior Spanish teacher. Just out college, she was one of those teachers whom all of us could relate to, perhaps a little too much. She was quite surprised, along with the rest of us, when one of my peers found her picture on myspace.com, in a bikini, listening 50 Cent. The picture mysteriously disappeared the next day.
GREGORY MONIZ
Tiverton, Rhode Island
DIVIDE AND CONQUER
In discussing the 3 1/2-year-old who was being mean to a 1 1/2-year-old ("Miss Conduct," October 8), Robin Abrahams missed the real issue: These two children are too far apart age-wise to be treated as playmates. An 18-month-old is little more than a baby and lacks the linguistic, social, and motor skills to play with a child who is more than twice her age. Likewise, the older child cannot be expected to find any common ground with such a young toddler. The mothers need to recognize that these visits are primarily for their own benefit and plan separate activities that are age-appropriate for each child.
GAIL M. MACDONALD
Quincy
SMALL CONCESSION?
In response to Charles P. Pierce's letter" to New Hampshire about its primary ("Pierced," October 1), I say we should all be pulling together for that state. There is very little else in any of the New England states that garners national attention. After the primaries, all the six states are written off as unimportant. Let New Hampshire have its day in the sun.
RANDY BURKE
Wakefield
