LETTERS ON THE NOVEMBER ISSUE

React
The Big Cure
I never wanted to be an
assembly-line doctor, but
the pressure to see more
patients and the endless
paperwork have resulted in
reimbursements that don’t
keep up with the rising
cost of running a medical
practice (“18 Big Ideas to
Fix Health Care Now”).
Medicare pays me less to
see a patient and manage The United States spends so much more on
multiple prescription refills health care than any other country, yet we get
than what many people less than satisfactory results. We can do better.
spend on hairstyling and I hope many of the suggestions in your story are
facials. Add the stress and
implemented in the near future so everyone in
liabilities and it’s no won-
der physicians are leaving America can be well. Lindie Keaton, Yellow Springs, Ohio
the field. Without compre-
hensive health care reform, I expect (two police officers passed us during
this trend to worsen. As for me, I’m that time), I finally drove on the flat
thinking about beauty school. to the next exit. To this day, I pull
Al d ebra Schrol l , MD, Chico, California over to check on every stranded
motorist. Joe Rose, Port Lavaca, Texas
I L L U S T R AT E D B Y C H R I S T O P H N I E M A N N

Pay It Forward
K udos to Thomas Weller, the
“San Diego Highwayman,” who
rescues broken-down motorists
(The Digest: “Highway Helper”).
Years ago, I got a flat at night in a
rough part of town. I couldn’t leave
my wife and newborn child, and I
had no phone. My spare was flat too.
After three hours waiting for help
readersdigest.com 1/09
World View
T he world is fast becoming a big
family of man. So it’s important
for the new president to take other
nations into consideration. Your
global poll was interesting (“How
the World Sees Us”). Most people
don’t know what the rest of the
world thinks, because those voices
11

are too often filtered out by the
media. Ca rl Zd enek , San Jose, California
America is a great nation, and we
have made mistakes. But we do not
need a report card from the rest of
the world to tell us how we’re doing.
M icha el F a rnsworth, Monroe, Washington
Higher Ground
A year after I moved into my
house, I received a notice from
my mortgage company that the
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Federal Emergency Manage-
ment Agency’s flood zone
map had changed and I
needed to purchase flood
insurance for $1,800 a
year (Outrageous!
“Drowning in Dollars”).
This premium is a burden
on my family, and now
FEMA acknowledges there’s
only a 1 percent chance
that my home will
become flooded. My
neighbors, who live 300 feet
away, aren’t required to have flood
insurance. The government needs to
do something about this mess.
Rick W indley, Ogden, Utah
Lessons in Loss
K athleen Kennedy Townsend’s
“Beyond Tragedy” is one of the
clearest, most helpful stories I have
ever read about dealing with death.
If there were a user’s manual for
living, this would be an essential
chapter. Tom Gagnon, Sun City Center, Florida
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