As someone who has carefully examined the reasons for our exceedingly high health care costs, I have concluded that Sen. Max Baucus should not be allowed to keep single-payer health care "off the table" in health care reform discussions he is conducting this month.

Surprisingly, I've talked with many people who have no idea what single-payer health care is all about. Well, allowing for some country-to-country variations it is the predominant system industrialized nations use to pay their health care costs.

Single-payer health care in the U.S. would be like having Medicare for all American citizens -- everyone in, no one out, including politicians. Patients would have full choice of doctors, and medical decisions would be left to patients and their doctors, not to insurance company bureaucrats as is often the case now.

Sen. Baucus has been pushing his health care reform agenda even though he once admitted he has not assessed the costs. Proponents of "Improved Medicare for All" (H.R. 676) have estimated that their plan would trim more than $350 billion annually from our current health care costs, yet Max refuses to let them address his committee.

Personally, rather than rely on Max's fuzzy-headed logic and insurance buddies to reform health care, I prefer to see a plan emerge from open, honest debate. That cannot happen if we permit Max to ban the most widely utilized health care system in the world from the discussion table. If you agree, tell him so at max@baucus.senate.gov.

Bob Balhiser

735 Corral Road