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RITA CUSICK, 75, of Chester Street, Ashley, passed away Thursday

Voter proud to support Medico Olenginski
Carolee Medico Olenginski, we are proud of you for not backing down. You voiced your opinion throughout the election.
You are 100 percent correct when you say that the Republican Party&rsquo;s Luzerne County leadership did nothing for you financially or physically.
 And when they ask you, &ldquo;who did help,&rdquo; tell them we were proud to help you. The best-qualified candidate won thanks to the grassroots people, not the Republican bigwigs. It is great to see you stick to your guns.
We&rsquo;ve waited too long for health care reform
As president, Richard Nixon sent a &ldquo;Special Message to Congress&rdquo; on health care. The full text is readily available on the Internet.
Citing the high cost and lack of access to health care, Nixon proposed a requirement that all employers subsidize health insurance for their employees. There was no small business exemption. Nixon proposed new Medicare benefits, paid for by the government.
The third part of the proposal was assisted health insurance, designed to cover everyone not offered coverage under employee health insurance or Medicare, including the unemployed, the disabled, the self-employed and those with low incomes. In addition, people with higher incomes also could obtain assisted health insurance if they could not otherwise get coverage at reasonable rates. Included in this latter group might be individuals whose health status or type of work puts them in high-risk insurance categories.
 Nixon was proposing a public option. Denying coverage for existing conditions would be prohibited. Policies could not be cancelled because of illness. Finally, Nixon proposed a cap on annual health care expenses for all Americans. The government would pay for any expenses beyond that cap.
Opponents of reform claim we cannot afford to reduce the cost of the most expensive health care system in the world, maintaining that paying double the going rate is frugal. Opponents of reform rail about passing on debt, despite the finding of the Congressional Budget Office that both the House and the Senate bills would substantially reduce the debt.
 Just as Senate Republicans unveiled their &ldquo;health care obstruction manual,&rdquo; a poll revealed that 60 percent of Americans and 33 percent of Republicans want a public option. Even more want health care reform in some form.
Opponents of reform continue to demonstrate a hardened indifference to human suffering and the everyday concerns of ordinary Americans.
In the 35 years since Nixon&rsquo;s proposal, health insurers and the states have done little to alleviate the problems with health insurance.
The plan of Cold Warrior and right-wing ideologue Richard Nixon went well beyond any current proposal. It is absurd to paint any current proposal as radical.
It is unforgivable to delay reform any longer.
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Voter proud to support Medico Olenginski Carolee Medico Olenginski