Monday’s solar eclipse unified the country
On Monday, a momentous event occurred across our land. A natural phenomenon caught the fancy of every American. As the moon totally obscured the sun for a few minutes, Americans gathered in every corner of the country to watch a feat of nature most probably will never see again. The strangely beautiful, breathtaking, but peaceful, transition occurred just as predicted, testimony to the master planner who began creation.
It cost nothing but a cheap pair of glasses. Normal routines stopped as we watched from rivers, hillsides, roadsides, bridges, backyards. It was an event for all of us – rich, poor, old, young. In a country seriously divided, it was a unifying happening, and it made us aware that there are forces greater than any of us that move right along on their ancient rhythms, no matter how foolish mankind behaves.
Clare Sawyer
Soddy-Daisy
Kudos to Bryan for eclipse venue
Thank you, Bryan College, for making your wonderful grounds and facilities available to our community to watch the eclipse.
Thank you, God, for the presentation of your extraordinary creation. It was spectacular.
Evelyn Shankles
Tackle costs, not ‘billed charges’
The people who end up paying more than half of “billed charges” are those who can least afford it those with no insurance or paying out of network.
Hospitals’ “billed charges” take advantage of those who can’t (or think they can’t) afford health insurance. I frequently encounter hourly earners who are paying $100/month to a hospital for a billing of $12,000 in billed charges where the PPO rate was $1,600. So BCBS and United Healthcare pay $1,600; the person earning $15/hour pays $12,000.
“Billed charges” made sense in the 1970s and early 1980s when hospitals were paid based on cost reports using allocations of overhead that were spread based on “gross” revenue. The more the gross charge, the more the hospital was paid. That system of payment has not been used for more than 30 years.
I also speak with high earners who have health insurance but who complain about understanding their hospital bills (because of billed charges being a multiple of what is actually paid).
Our health care system has many poorly functioning parts. Why not take this one away and tackle underlying costs, which are a bigger issue?
Richard M. Brame
Ooltewah
Social media mobs start with one person
Response to the commentary on Aug. 24 Free Press editorial (page B7), “How do we check the power of social media mobs:”
The author brought up some very interesting points about the way the Internet connects us in many different aspects of life.
The writer mentioned an analogy comparing these “social media mobs” to a later-stage Communist regime. While I do agree that social media mobs are becoming more prevalent, and I agree with many well-made arguments in the article, I do not believe this new phenomenon should necessarily be compared to a Communist regime.
The reason is this: the Internet is essentially a pure democracy, if we are to compare it at all to a form of government. People are arguably more free to do as they please on the World Wide Web than they are in real life. What does this imply? In my opinion, it simply further reiterates the evils that lie in the heart of mankind. In a later-stage Communist regime, there is an elite group of evil men searching to destroy those below them. On the internet, each man searches to destroy one another from his own heart’s desires.
Kristen Vonnoh
Collegedale, Tenn.