I am a free market advocate. I hope you agree that the insurance industry needs more competition not less. State regulators instead of dictating policy terms and rates ought to provide a forum for insured’s to file claim complaints.

        Socialized medicine is a failure. It is costly and provides inadequate medical care that is often too little and too late. The current proposal requires employers to convert to the government plan within 5 years and private individuals probably have no more than a year. I will work tirelessly against further government intrusion into private industry and our private lives.

        I understand that insurance companies also ration services through claims personnel who do not have medical degrees. Also, there is no doubt that certain doctors provide treatment that is financially rewarding but not medically necessary. This moral hazard exists because the person paying the bill is not receiving the treatment.

        All too often insurance companies deny treatment that is reasonable and necessary because they follow care paths mandated by the government, or conduct a cost/benefit analysis and deny the treatment as being too expensive as compared to the benefit to the injured or sick person.

        The only legitimate function of government is to provide a forum to resolve disputes between policy holders and insurance companies, and if the insurance company is found to have violated the terms of the policy or unreasonably and without an adequate medical foundation denied treatment recommended by the treating doctor, instead of a fine in the nature of a tax, the insurance company should pay a penalty to the victim of the contract violation.