Editor:

When Rep. Joe Wilson inappropriately shouted "You lie!" at President Barack Obama, he was not entirely wrong. As it now stands, citizenship would be a requirement to qualify for public option insurance -- notice that the term "insurance" is used as opposed to "health care."

You see, health care is already available to nearly all, but without insurance premiums, the massive health care program being pushed through would be prohibitive costwise; how would the new bureaucratic system be sustained? We're talking many more government jobs, buildings, etc.

However, the way around citizenship requirement is being legislated now, with the so-called

Amnesty bill; this would give illegal, undocumented workers U.S. citizen rights, including health insurance, among other privileges. Lou Dobbs' two-minute news piece was most revealing, and frightening. I hope the entire bills are scrapped and Congress starts working on health care reform from the standpoint of improving what is already in place.

I'd like to see more financial help for community clinics, financial incentives for those choosing primary/ER physician education, more financial help for those wanting to become PAs, nurses and aides; also, making insurance companies more competitive by eliminating state borders and offering catastrophic insurance, for example.

"Public option" is almost an oxymoron, when "mandatory" coverage for employers is in place. Although I feel like the lone dissenter against a tank in Tiananmen Square, we must keep letting our representatives know how we feel in the hope that our country is worth it.

RITA WALKER, Cheyenne