Letters to the editor 9-2

Off-road race

deserves attention

It is hard to believe that the Nevada Appeal and the Dayton Chamber of Commerce failed to highlight the "Vegas to Reno - The Long Way" off-road racing event on the calendars for local events.

This is not the first year for this off-road classic that ends in Dayton. It began in Las Vegas and ended in Dayton last week. Is anyone aware that this event is nationally recognized as one of the longest off-road races in the U.S.?

As I write this letter, the contestants are continuing the race from Hawthorne, through the canyon at Como Mine, and proceeding to the finish line, adjacent to the rodeo grounds in Dayton. Regardless of no information on the event, there were no less than 100 spectators at the finish line.

We have so many off-road enthusiasts in the Dayton area. How many, including the youngest of off-road enthusiasts, would have loved to see this event free of charge - but didn't know it was going on? Dayton has an opportunity to put itself on the map, promoting the event to vendors and off-road enthusiasts. If the RGJ, Parumph News and Tahoe reporter can lend some space in their newspapers to promote this event, I surely think the Nevada Appeal and the Dayton Chamber of Commerce can find a way to do the same.

The train may be running from Virginia City, but this opportunity was missed by many.

Donna Harrison

Dayton

Let's have a better

health care solution

Health care, we can't afford it? Canada, France, Germany and other industrialized countries can afford a single-payer government-run system that is much more expensive than what has actually been proposed here, but the USA can't afford a more modest system?

Any suggestion that the USA cannot afford to cover the uninsured is an admission that these countries must be wealthier than us.

It is also important to understand that we already pay most of the costs of uninsured people. When they finally get desperate enough to go to the emergency room to get treatment, the hospital is stuck with a bill that will not get paid. They have to pass these costs on to other patients through higher fees and this translates into higher insurance costs for those of us who are covered.

The proposed bill ensures that the cost of the uninsured is borne by everyone, instead of just having it paid for by those who are unfortunate enough to become ill. It also spares the hospitals the agonizing decision over whether to get stuck with unpaid bills or to refuse treatment, with potentially fatal consequences for the patient.

Let's have a better, fairer and more compassionate system where doctors and hospitals know they will be paid and patients can get the health care they need.

Michael Runow

Carson City

Tort reform not

malpractice answer

"Health care problems today can be solved by tort reform," opines Steven David in his Aug. 21 commentary. Apparently Mr. David forgot about Question 3, approved by voters in 2004.

It capped non-economic damages at $350,000. That may sound like a lot, but malpractice cases are complex and expensive, and the money is split between plaintiff and attorney. The initiative also cut the statute of limitations to an ultra-stringent 12 months.

Thanks to Question 3, malpractice premiums have fallen a bit. The unintended consequence is that there is now little deterrent to medical facilities engaging in practices that put patients and staff at risk. As many as 50,000 patients were exposed to hepatitis when staff at two Las Vegas surgical clinics reused syringes and medicine vials. Hundreds of those patients now have fibrosis, cirrhosis and cancer of the liver.

In the 2009 legislative session, A.B. 495 proposed to waive the cap in such cases of gross negligence, but the bill died a quiet death in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The result: Even egregious cases are never filed because attorneys can no longer afford to take them.

In "The Medical Malpractice Myth" (Slate, July 11, 2006), Ezra Klein estimated that the cost of the entire U.S. malpractice system, including legal fees, insurance costs and payouts, comes to less than one-half of 1 percent of health care spending.

Other research shows that malpractice pressure actually makes hospitals more, not less, efficient. "Tort reform" removes that pressure.

Rich Dunn

Carson City