Dear Editor:

Nearly 40 members of Indivisible-Boothbay met July 25 to discuss the then recent vote taken by the Senate to “continue the debate” on reforms to our health care system. After the vote, Senator John McCain told Republicans and Democrats in the Senate and the House to get back to working together, to compromise on positions, and not to just win for the sake of winning at the expense of the American people: “Let’s return to regular order … We’ve been spinning our wheels on too many important issues because we keep trying to find a way to win without help from across the aisle.”

McCain added: “Stop listening to the bombastic loudmouths on the radio, television and internet … They don’t want anything done for the public good …”

We completely agree with McCain, who called on Senate Republicans to discuss, debate and compromise on changes to our health care system. With a bill affecting the health care of all Americans and accounting for an estimated 1/6th of our economy, one would think that both parties sitting down to fix our system would be natural. One would think.

Health care is too important to be politicized. We need good policy, shaped through an inclusive and thought-filled manner, rather than bad politics shaped in secrecy and steeped in partisanship.

Anticipating that some readers may be screaming: “Republicans are doing exactly what Democrats did in passing their health care act,” that is incorrect. The Affordable Health Care Act was passed after:

• 47 public hearings and roundtables before the bi-partisan Senate Health, Education Labor and Pensions Committee;
• 53 hearings of the bi-partisan Senate Finance Committee;
• A month long marking up by the bipartisan HELP Committee before being brought to the floor for a vote;
• Debate on the Senate floor for 25 days; and
• 188 Republican amendments included in the final version of the Affordable Health Care Act;

As McCain implored, both parties have tried to win without help from the other side, and that needs to stop. We wholeheartedly agree, and urge readers who agree, regardless of which party you may support, to call your representatives and ask them to work with the other political party to fix the problems within our health care system.

Fred Levin for Indivisible-Boothbay

Boothbay