The Senate Republicans’ Secret Health Bill

To the Editor:

Re “G.O.P. Health Bill Drafted in Dark” (front page, June 16):

Senate Republicans think that subterfuge and secrecy are the ways to formulate a replacement for Obamacare, but in this, and in many other areas of policy, they are wrong. The American people, and senators from both parties, deserve to know the key details of what will be in this momentous bill now, and not right before a final vote is taken.

Senator Mitch McConnell criticized President Barack Obama and the Democrats when they took over a year to construct Obamacare, saying they were trying to ram it down everyone’s throats. This is not only hypocrisy of the first order, but also a highly undemocratic way of approaching an incredibly important piece of legislation, whose final composition will affect millions of Americans.

ROBERT H. MOULTON III
COMMERCE CITY, COLO.

To the Editor:

If Republican senators like Bob Corker, Ron Johnson and John McCain are genuinely concerned about the secretive process their leadership is using to jam through a health bill, they can do something about it. They can publicly tell Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, that they will refuse to vote for any bill on such an important matter if there are not full committee hearings and enough time for the whole Senate to give input.

If they do not do something like that and end up voting for the bill, we should conclude that they weren’t really that concerned.

TIM O’KEEFE, DECATUR, GA.

To the Editor:

Re “The Senate Is Close to a Health Care Bill, but Do Republicans Have the Votes?” (nytimes.com, June 19): If the Republicans marshal the votes to pass a bad bill, their victory will be short-lived. They will simply be setting the stage for yet another repeal, once they lose their majority.

The instability caused by the prospect of “musical chairs” health care acts will not induce already reluctant insurance carriers to offer more choices at lower cost. Republican lawmakers would know that if they did not turn deaf ears to health care experts.

WILLIAM GOLDMAN
PALOS VERDES ESTATES, CALIF.

To the Editor:

Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs, Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives alike, are appreciative of the quality and affordability of the lifesaving care being rendered to Representative Steve Scalise, who was shot on an Alexandria ball field, and hope for his full recovery. It is now the responsibility of all members of Congress to ensure that this same level of quality and affordability is made available to all Americans.

ROBERT A. GOLDSTONE
TRURO, MASS.