Editor:

Thank you for your article on the Affordable Care Act in Humboldt ("The Faces of Obamacare," March 6). I, like Jude Ehrlich, am thrilled to have health insurance after five years of going without. I am self-employed and eligible for government subsidies for the same basic plan I purchased until it became unaffordable.

I was astounded to hear that the only available Covered California insurance providers in our county refuse to reimburse providers a reasonable amount for services they used to pay for. I think this is yet more evidence that a single-payer system that cuts insurance companies out of the picture entirely is the only way to provide medical coverage to all. The corporate greed of insurance companies clearly outweighs what small amount of concern they may have for the well-being of their insured.

To my mind, providing a windfall for insurance companies by increasing their policies at the government's expense was an apparently necessary evil in getting any health care reform passed. The first step in reform, said many. And yet Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield seem to interpret their monopoly over insurance coverage to make a power grab for even more profits for themselves, at the expense of patients, providers and everyone else in this country's broken health care system.

Perhaps the corporate greed that seems to run our country makes true health care reform impossible. I believe Obama has the desire to provide something better for our population, but we as a voting populace lack the political will and compassion to move beyond the drive to make money for a few.

Janet Stock, Arcata