Letters to the Editor | Sept. 26, 2023

In a recent op-ed, Jeremy Jones notes that many of his patients are unaware they have lost their health insurance because of the end of continuous enrollment practices put in place during the pandemic. Now all Medicaid patients must reenroll to determine if they are destitute enough to stay on the program or find a new plan through Pennie, the health insurance marketplace. It’s needlessly complicated.

If we had a single-payer system, no one would ever have to reenroll or feel the impact of losing their health-care coverage. The hundreds of millions of dollars wasted on eligibility determinations could be used to provide better care for patients. Two Medicare for All bills in Congress — HR 3421 and S 1655 — would guarantee coverage for all Americans. Unfortunately, some of our Democratic Pennsylvania representatives — Dwight Evans, Madeleine Dean, Mary Gay Scanlon, and Chrissy Houlahan — and Sens. John Fetterman and Bob Casey are not cosponsors. Given that 185,000 Pennsylvanians have already lost their Medicaid coverage, our leaders need to do better.

Walter Tsou, Philadelphia

Philadelphia and Greyhound should be embarrassed. The 600 block of Market Street is not a bus station. No seats, no restroom facilities, and nowhere near enough space inside the small ticket office to stand in bad weather. Winter is coming. Cars blocking a major intersection to drop off people and luggage at Seventh and Market Streets. People walking out into Market Street to get their bags from under the bus. Who thought this was a good idea? Could you imagine a major city in other developed nations having this pathetic setup? Neither can I. It says so much about America and how it treats certain classes of citizens. As a Philly native, we should be ashamed.

Jim Meehan, Lake Worth, Fla.

Glancing at Pennsylvania System of School Assessment performance, a recent letter writer opined that “money doesn’t seem to be related to performance at all.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Across the state, schools rely on local property taxes. Prosperous communities have expensive real estate, which yields high tax revenues to fund schools richly. In addition, prosperous families have ample resources to enhance their children’s learning at home. The outcome? High PSSA scores.

Take Lower Merion, where 88% of students hit proficient levels or above in 2022 — that’s par for the affluent course. Lower-income families live in communities with cheaper housing that yields less tax revenue. Their schools may receive only half the funding per pupil that Lower Merion provides. Poor parents also have less time, money, and training to bring to their children’s home learning. The outcome? Low PSSAs. In Chester Upland School District, only 25% of eighth-grade readers tested proficient or above. Money absolutely does buy education.

Tony West, Philadelphia, anthony.abbott.west@gmail.com

Join the conversation: Send letters to letters@inquirer.com. Limit length to 150 words and include home address and day and evening phone number. Letters run in The Inquirer six days a week on the editorial pages and online.