Dear Editor,

Most of our neighbors in Garner, N.C. received a bulk mailing a couple of weeks ago, from Blue Cross Blue Shield of N.C. requesting that we contact Democratic senator Kay Hagan and ask that she not support current health care legislation. This is but another example of how our health care providers waste money that should go for health care. If paying lobbyists in Washington doesn't waste enough money, we have a "Non Profit" insurer wasting health care premiums right here in N.C. I have discussed this mailing with a number of my neighbors, one of which is a 15 year teaching professional. Here, in part, is her response; "I do not appreciate BCBSNC spending money that is supposed to be for health care on mailings for political purposes. I will make up my own mind based on facts, not on political propaganda. Your irresponsible spending of my health care money is unacceptable. It is obvious to me that BCBSNC does not understand its responsibility in its use of the premiums I pay, and it is absurd for BCBSNC to ask me to campaign for them. If I receive one more mailing, I will actively support the exact opposite position stated in the mailing. While I have only one option for health insurance through my employer, I can hardly wait for another option - one that does not waste health care money. Not only have My health care expenses more than doubled in two years, but many of my by benefits were drastically cut or eliminated, due in part to wasteful spending of my premium dollars. It is obvious to me that BCBSNC does not understand it's obligations to its insured. If I find there is anything else I can do to stop my health insurance company from wasting money by mailing me information about its position to SAVE money, be assured that I will do it. I am very angry receiving such a mailing. If I wish to contact Kay Hagan, I will do so on my own accord, not at the request of a company that costs me more and more for less and less health care, while my state salary actually went down. How dare you! Stop this absurd spending, and get busy taking care of the health expenses of your members. You are supposed to be a non-profit organization. So please just try to get better at doing your job. Let's face it, you are not that good at it. If I did as miserable a job at teaching your children, as you do at taking care of health expenses, I would have been fired long ago." WOW! That's short and to the point. It's unimaginable that we complain about not attracting the best candidates for teaching positions in our state. But than, what do we expect, given the facts that we treat them so poorly. Just a recap...we pay our teachers a salary, but take some of it away from them to pay for other state services and priorities. Than the state is forced to renegotiate their benefits annually (due to rising costs.) We than give them less coverage ( in some cases eliminating benefits all together) and charge them more in premiums. And to add insult to injury, our non profit state insurer is spending not only lobby money in Washington to defeat a health insurance reform bill, but they are spending our premium dollars in state asking us to lobby our legislators to defeat a reform bill that 56 percent of our citizenry support. This, to me, is a travesty. As citizens, we should be outraged! It's way past time to push back against the insurance industry's chokehold on our lives and livelihood. It's my suggestion that our citizens do call Senator Hagan and thank her for her support of health care reform. In addition, a call to Senator Burr is in order also. Please request that he wake up and smell the Starbucks, not the megabucks he's receiving from the insurance industry! And while he's on the line, ask him to support a Senate health insurance reform bill, not for the insurance lobby, but for the 56 percent of the constituents that voted for him. Jack Mixell