Compassion on display
Someone probably lost a beloved companion Sunday, as a black and white dog must have been struck by a car and seemed near death as he lay at the edge of Mamalahoa Highway. But, please know, your dog was not alone. A caring woman in a white Subaru had stopped and was trying to locate help for your pet.
Rather than leave him, this woman had spent quite some time tracking down someone from Animal Control and was prepared to wait another half-hour until help arrived. She would have taken him to a veterinarian, but Animal Control had to come first to asses his condition.
As sad as it was to see this situation, it was heartwarming to see someone so compassionate and humane about an injured animal.
Phyllis Hanson,
Keauhou
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Time to rethink fireworks
I believe I speak for many, if not all, war veterans when I say those firecrackers and mini-bombs that go off on New Year’s and the Fourth of July 4 (right in our own neighborhoods) conjure up memories we would rather not bring to mind, ever again. Those sounds also fill our companion animals with body-shaking fear.
Isn’t 2022 time to change those war-like sounds to more celebratory sounds, such as bells, chimes, and meaningful music? New Year’s Eve and July 4th should be filled with sounds of peace we hope to remember, not sounds of war we wish to forget.
Dov Kadima
Kohala
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Blocking change hurts seniors
The recent op-ed, “AARP has a conflict of interest when it comes to drug pricing legislation,” reads like all the other opinions that Big Pharma and its enablers recycle. If anyone has a conflict, it is astroturf groups like Patients Rising, claiming to speak for patients but cozying up to Big Pharma.
For decades, millions of seniors across our country have been forced to pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. Many older Americans must decide between life-saving medications or paying for other necessities, such as rent or food.
Congress moved one step closer to solving this issue when the House passed the Build Back Better Act, which would finally allow Medicare to negotiate the prices it pays for some prescription drugs. In every other market, buyers and sellers negotiate, and bigger buyers use their buying power to get what amounts to a bulk discount. But Big Pharma has had its handcuffs on Medicare for well over a decade and that must change.
Blocking change hurts seniors, everyone who pays into health insurance, and taxpayers—since we all bear the costs of today’s out-of-control drug prices through higher premiums, cost-sharing and taxes.
Here is the truth: The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says reform would result in one less new drug out of hundreds over the next decade; meanwhile, millions of seniors would have more affordable access. Medicines only work if patients can afford them.
John Hishta
AARP Senior Vice President of Campaigns
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