Another left-wing progressive column from Elfers on March 22 compels me to write this letter.

Elfers writes most of his editorials lecturing Republicans on what they should do. That won’t work on Republicans simply because in our view Elfers is 180 degrees away from our rational logic. In the March 22 column regarding Obamacare, not one word was written about the coming train wreck of that bill.

It is failing miserably everywhere. Many, many health insurance companies around the country have now dropped out because the alternative was bankruptcy. Of course the Democrats would bail them out if at all possible because they believe money grows on trees out back. The fact that many Republicans do not like the Ryan plan is because it too closely follows the soon-to-fail Obamacare.

The problem is Obamacare gave away so much free stuff that those getting the free stuff are mad they won’t get the free stuff anymore. They can’t comprehend that others like myself are paying for the “free” stuff and it’s killing any chance of growth in our business because healthcare is consuming huge amounts of our money.

The problem with healthcare is that it is extremely expensive. I went to the Enumclaw hospital two weeks after an injury, having trouble breathing because of a broken rib. The one X-ray and two-hour visit was $3,850. My daughter’s five stiches in a record 30-minute visit was $1,500. An external fixator that costs about $100 to manufacture is billed out at $2,000 to the patent. A broken arm with surgery is $20,000-plus.

Anyone notice that every single hospital in the region has built absolutely beautiful huge new hospitals? Healthcare is big business. Big business that wants to make as much money as they can, taking as much as possible from insurance companies and ultimately the consumer.

Elfers states that AARP, hospital associations and American Medical Association were supporters of Obamacare and are now “strongly opposed to the Republican plan.” Hello! Of course they are! They want the government to force 300 million-plus customers to give them hundreds of billions more dollars and have a corrupt and incompetent government oversee it.

This isn’t about someone needing to “play the adult.” This is about fixing a completely out-of-control healthcare system that is consuming huge amounts of money from its citizens. That’s what needs to be fixed.

Ted DeVol

Enumclaw