With regard to my Letter to the Editor published in the Suburbanite on 3-30-08 ("Long distance reader agrees.........") my reference to the unnecessary overpayment of $900,000.00 in healthcare premiums by the City of Cuyahoga Falls did not occur during that city's Blue Cross scandal in the 1990's- it occurred a little over two years ago.

Although the trail of the Blue Cross scandal in Cuyahoga Falls has grown cold recent events there- right here in Summit County- show the need for national healthcare are stronger than ever. In December 2005 a healthcare expert hired by the Cuyahoga Falls Firefighters presented the results of an audit of the City of Cuyahoga Falls healthcare benefits program. The purpose of the audit was to determine if the program could be improved financially without impacting benefits delivered to employees.

The analysis showed that the hospital and doctor network used by the City of Cuyahoga Falls to provide coverage for employees offered discounts up to 28 percent while discounts from other networks in the Akron area were in the 45-55 percent range. The bottom line- in 2004 alone the City of Cuyahoga Falls unnecessarily and imprudently overpaid their healthcare costs by more than $900,000.00. This represented about a quarter of their total healthcare premium. How wide-ranging is this problem and what have been it's consequences? At a time when more than ten percent of Ohioans are receiving food stamps I find this appalling.

In Summit County the City of Cuyahoga Falls could serve as Exhibit A in the argument for a national healthcare plan. United States Senator Sherrod Brown has set an example we should all applaud- he has chosen not to accept his government supplied healthcare until all Ohioans are covered by a national healthcare plan. Perhaps the Mayor of Cuyahoga Falls and his Cabinet should make a similar gesture and forego their taxpayer supplied healthcare until the $900,000.00 shortfall is made up.

James Berres
Roseville, Michigan