Supreme Court, Medicare and what might be causing all the shootings | Opinion

Supreme Court causing carnage

We are becoming a more violent nation; the norms that have held us to deal civilly with each other have declined. Allowing weapons to be carried outside the home for “self-defense” has led to their use offensively rather than defensively.

As a society we aren’t blameless, but the U.S. Supreme Court is especially at fault. In setting aside any consideration of “militia” in interpreting the Second Amendment, the right to bear arms in the home as a means of self-defense was established in 2008 (District of Columbia v. Heller) by a single vote. It was just an expected next step to allow concealed carry in public (New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, 2022), a decision facilitated by conservative Trump appointees.

We also are now less able to limit the type of firearm carried or owned. The court was unmoved by the assertions of Justice Breyer and recently by the Department of Justice that consideration needs to be taken of the actual effects of such decisions on public violence. Assuming that the majority-ruling justices are not blind to this issue, the implication that this is part of a larger agenda cannot be ignored.

David King, Richland

Changes corrupt Medicare’s intent

The passage of Medicare in 1965 was historic for covering the needs of seniors. More important, it mandated that no Medicare funds are to be paid to any hospital or clinic that practices racist discrimination. Originally designed to protect seniors from financial ruin due to medical costs, Medicare became a trough for corporate plunder.

Government accommodation to health insurance companies, hospitals and doctors, however, opened the door for corporate fraud and abuse. For example, Medicare sets rates for Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollees above those for TM (Traditional Medicare).

A recent New York Times article revealed that eight out of 10 of the largest MA plans submitted inflated bills to Medicare. According to Ana M. Malinow, MD, MA plans game risk scores (making healthy patients look sicker, increasing the payment rate, but not increasing the amount of health care provided. “Accountability for quality and cost of care” is how Medicare gets privatized by inserting private equity, venture capitalists and for-profit insurance plans into a public program.

What a shame that corporate greed has not been regulated! Healthcare for profit infringes on the human right to free, accessible, universal health care for all. Now is the time to de-privatize Medicare.

Richard Grassl, Pasco

Needing spiritual, cultural reset?

Mass shootings in our nation are out-pacing the calendar. What happened Sunday, May 7, near Dallas, Texas, was the 199th , which occurred on the 127th day of 2023. Seven more bodies.

So, too many guns, eh? Or is it too many assault weapons, or maybe too many bullets? Too many mentally deranged people? Perhaps we need more tax-funded mental health facilities/professionals so society can fix/help these kinds of people who for some reason aren’t in their right minds. The day after that Sunday, eight more people were killed in what appears to be by a man in a Range Rover who intentionally drove into people at a bus stop. And why? No bullets involved.

I covered more than 40 homicide cases as a newspaper reporter in California. All of them had motives — from anger to drugs to robbery, or wrong place/time. But this run of mass shootings is different, almost inexplicable. It is pure hate. People with dozens of stab fatal wounds. Why, just to see someone die? Has our culture gone mad? Maybe it’s demons. Maybe we need a cultural and spiritual reset, a return to God, a revival. As a so-called Christian nation, we need help.

John Trumbo, Kennewick