Letters to the Editor

I see in the newspaper that Sen Nelson is encouraging us all to “work together on a Nebraska solution for Health care.” Thanks, Ben, but you gave us this mess.

He want’s us to come together and figure out a Nebraska based insurance exchange program so that there’s no “federal takeover.” Thanks, again, but I’m not helping you out of the disaster that you created.

The “competition” between companies, which has been denied by states over the years because of state boundaries and state insurance commissions, has never seen the light of day.

Had we been able to choose between several insurance companies, like we can with car insurance, over the years, I doubt that there would be as many un- and under-insured folks as there are. The problem with the whole scenario is that these plans, offered by the exchanges are going to be useless in a matter of years anyway.

Under the new health care laws all insurance companies are being forced to cover nearly everything. These have to accept every pre-exiting disease. Now here’s what you can’t escape…the math can’t be falsified. When you make insurance companies accept patients with all types of diseases, without letting them use traditional riders, and the like, you force them to collect enough in premiums to cover the expected increase in costs.

We can not escape the actuaries. It’s simple mathematics. You increase exposure to the any insurance company and they will have to spread the costs across all owners of their policies. So what does this mean? Costs go up.

And that’s what we’ve seen in the last three years. President Obama promised that your insurance rates would go down. They haven’t; they have nearly increased exponentially. He said that you’d be able to keep you insurance…and you won’t.

Why? Because the system is rigged to fail, leaving only the government as the only payor.

It doesn’t take rocket scientist to see this. Insurance is costing more (because of the Obama mandates) and will effectively cause you and I not to be able to choose any private company’s product to cover us, and our loved ones.

As prices for these plans go up and up, it will not be feasible for the average person to afford their own private insurance. As fewer and fewer people purchase a company’s plans, they will not be profitable, and no longer offered. One by one, insurance plans will succumb to this effect leaving only the federal government as the only payor.

So will I participate with Ben in the insurance exchange conversation? No. It would be a magnificent waste of my time. What Nebraska, or any state for that matter, does to determine what it will do for an insurance exchange is moot. Because Obamacare is rigged to cause all insurance plans to fail. Again, leaving the federal government as the only payor in the system.

If you want to help, then I suggest you financially support Republican senate candidates across the country and Romney/Ryan. That’s what I’m doing.

That is the only hope we have for a reasonable solution to healthcare. Because if Obamacare stands, not only will there be a one payor system, but the economy will stagnate and your coverage under Medicare will be severely curtailed. That’s if you can find a doctor that will even accept Medicare.

My husband, Bill, was piloting our Beechcraft Debonair on July 29 about 40 miles north of Gothenburg when our adventure began. We were en route from on our way from Oshkosh, WI to Parker, CO.

I’m a pilot too and noticed our battery voltage getting lower, indicating an electrical problem that needed attention. After a quick call to FAA Air Traffic Control and a consultation of the GPS database, we shut down all non-essential electrical equipment, lowered the landing gear and bee-lined it to your hometown airport.

After a safe landing, your airport manager Dennis Brown and his wife, Carol, were preparing to leave when they saw our plane. Dennis recognized the plane from an earlier visit we had made and decided to stick around to greet us. We taxied to a stop and opened the cowl to find the remnants of a shredded alternator belt. Bill explained our dilemma to Dennis who is retired airline pilot. He and Carol helped us by finding the materials needed to make emergency repairs and driving us there to get them, moving the plane into the shade of a hangar and picking up hamburgers at McDonald’s. By the time we returned to the airport for the last time, I felt like an old friend of the Browns.

A suitable replacement belt was then installed but we found that a newly installed fuel mixture control had problems that could only be corrected by making an extension for the control rod. Dennis once again came to the rescue by providing the cutting tools required to modify a part needed to serve as the extension. Shortly thereafter, we were on the way to Parker, CO.

The kindness and generosity of Dennis and Carol and other members of the Gothenburg Airport community who—lent us a helping hand during this unplanned stop will live on in our memories for a long time. We will surely stop by again on future return trips from Oshkosh to purchase fuel, renew acquaintances and trade flying stories.

In September, Bill and I will visit your sister city, Gothenburg (Gotebörg), Sweden, to visit with my father’s family and we will surely tell them of the kindness and good cheer of their counterparts in Gothenburg, NE. To everyone in town who helped these pilots in distress go safely on their way, it is much appreciated.

This week the Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the annual Harvest Festival with the theme of “Super Heroes.” After the experiences my mother, Mary Dee Peyton, and family have had over the last two months I think this is a great theme for this community.

It started with those heroes who volunteered their time and energy to come to our house when I needed them for Mom. The guys on the Rescue Squad were professional, friendly, knowledgeable and efficient. Next it was Dr. Carol and all the nurses, technicians, therapists and staff at Gothenburg Memorial Hospital. Wow! You guys were outstanding. The care Mom received was second to none. The food was great, the place was exceptionally clean. I can’t say enough good things about all of you.

Mom’s next stay was with the Super Heroes at Hilltop Estates. Once again we were constantly impressed with how friendly, happy and enthusiastic everyone there was. Mom’s stay there was nothing like I had envisioned a care facility to be. The help from the staff was great, not only in Mom’s care, but in guiding us through the maze of rules, regulations, and all the other stuff that frankly we hadn’t thought of in regard to Mom’s future care.

Another hero is Angie Barkmeier and the Senior Center who provided us with so many useful items we needed for Mom. We were not aware of all the services the Senior Center offers. Again, we feel very lucky to live here in Gothenburg.

Mom is now at Stone Hearth Estates and, while she hasn’t been there long enough for us to get to know all the folks there, we have already been impressed with the friendliness and willingness to help from everyone with whom we’ve dealt.

We are looking forward to Mom’s continued improvement and her climb to better health that we know is going to happen at Stone Hearth.

Yep, Gothenburg truly is a community of hometown super heroes. The theme for this year’s festival was a great call.

On behalf of all of us in north central Nebraska and the Niobrara River valley ... thank you firemen from Gothenburg and many other communities miles away from the scene of the recent fires that burned thousands of acres and destroyed over a dozen homes.

I couldn’t believe the number of fire departments, equipment, men and women fire fighters who responded to assist our local firemen and I could hardly believe the stories of fast moving flames and extreme heat coming from these rough canyons. We are thankful no one lost their life especially when the wind changed and pushed the flames in various directions.

In the Ainsworth Fire Hall, I heard numerous stories about close calls and incidents related to the fight to stop the fires. One said “You know Gothenburg sent some guys up and they’ve got a guy with a plane flying guys up and back in shifts.”

So, thank you fire fighters in small communities all over our state. I guess it’s just something they do. They hear about someone in need and they load up and go help.

I’m sure I can speak for many in our area. Thanks again.