Sounding off: Gov. Andrew Cuomo would be good Democratic presidential candidate

Even though I am a Trump supporter, I hope Democrats are watching N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo giving his daily summary. He is the real deal.

President Trump will wipe out Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders — not even close. Cuomo would be a formidable candidate, causing Trump serious problems. He projects warmth and is a guy-next-door type, honest, candid, thorough, not overloaded with ego. He encourages calm in these bad times.

It pains me to say this, but I am tired of hearing Trump say what a great job he has done over and over; it’s boring. Just give the facts, please. It’s not a time to be grandstanding. It seems his ego is out of control.

Cuomo is definitely a leader, and I would seriously consider voting for him rather than Trump come this November. The only negative about this: If Cuomo won, the Democratic platform would destroy all that Trump has accomplished and our nation would slip back into Obamaism, which, in my opinion, was a disaster.

It’s ironic how an unexpected bad situation caused a star to be born. An interesting paradox!

A. Atkinson, Lower Burrell

Coronavirus treatment and health insurance

The recently passed federal stimulus legislation makes coronavirus testing free to all patients, regardless of health insurance status. Anyone who is experiencing symptoms can now get tested without worrying about costs.

To ensure that hospitals don’t simply jack up their testing prices once health insurers, self-insured employers and the government are required to pick up the tab, the legislation demands providers post their diagnostic prices online. This transparency will hold hospitals accountable for their testing costs, protecting payers from price gouging and waste.

Policymakers can help patients and payers even more by extending this price transparency provision to coronavirus treatments in the next stimulus package. By allowing patients and self-insured employers to shop around for the best treatment value, a market will emerge and prices will fall.

When patients have the peace of mind that coronavirus treatments won’t bankrupt them, they can devote all their energy to fighting this terrible disease.

Cynthia A. Fisher, Newton, Mass.

The writer is founder and chairman of PatientRightsAdvocate.org

US should make its own necessities

Medical necessity made searching for a drug that was not made in China or a third-world country a yearlong endeavor for me. I was prescribed a name-brand pharmaceutical by my doctor and had it filled at a well-known pharmacy in Greensburg. My medical insurance would only pay for generic. The generic I received came from China.

Being not overly optimistic at China’s quality control, I requested another prescription and it came from India. I called another pharmacy, and asked if they could get me my script from Canada. They could not. Suffice it to say, my search was futile. I had three choices: Either accept the generic from a third-world country, pay out-of-pocket, which was exorbitant, or just not take the prescribed medication.

This is the position we have been put in by relying on other countries to provide us with our necessities. We are dependents!

This pandemic should be an eye-opener. We need to manufacture our own necessities. It can be done, if we are willing to pay a little more. Isn’t your life worth it?

Michaelene McWhinney, Hempfield

How is Gov. Wolf doing ‘everything we can’?

While the state loses over $6 million a day in liquor sales, our governor proclaims, “We are doing everything we can to help.” How exactly? Safe practices are in place at many stores that protect both customer and employee. We can’t do that at our Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores?

By having an unemployment website that unemployed and self-employed people cannot get on for over three weeks? By laying off over 2,500 state employees who could be used in other areas? Say, for example, the unemployment office? Other states have put into place “safe” processes so at least some people can keep their jobs. Gov. Tom Wolf has proven himself inept in a crisis by just shutting everything down. Oh, and buy masks? Where and with what money, you may ask?

As Peggy Noonan wrote in the April 4 Wall Street Journal: “Everyone is fascinated that everything is closed but liquor stores remain open. This is because there isn’t a politician in the country stupid enough to prohibit alcohol in a national crisis. They may know on some level that no nation in the history of the world has closed both its churches and its liquor stores simultaneously and survived. Russia after the revolution closed the churches but did its best to keep vodka available because they wanted everyone drunk, which is the only way to get through communism.”

Peter Mamula, Venetia

World’s other deadly current pandemics

As the world goes through the coronavirus pandemic, with severity forecasts constantly changing because of imprecise data, the only known constant is that if you are a senior citizen and have health problems, you have a greater potential of succumbing to the disease.

With this in mind, it might be enlightening to alert the world that there are other pandemics going on right in front of our eyes, constantly, which we have come to accept as just daily occurrences. Some examples of deaths worldwide (Jan. 1-April 6, 2020, according to statistics at www.worldometers.info) include: over 9.5 million abortions, over 2.4 million from starvation, over 2 million from cancer, over 1.1 million from smoking-related causes, over 581,000 from alcohol-related diseases, over 391,000 from HIV/AIDS, over 314,000 from traffic fatalities, over 249,000 from suicide, over 225,000 from malaria and over 113,000 from seasonal flu.

In my opinion, many of these pandemics could be avoided. The universal law of cause and effect states that for every effect, there is a definite cause. Likewise for every cause, there is a definite effect.

Joseph Krill, Murrysville

Allegheny County Jail release was right thing to do

Reading Jacob Tierney’s article “More than 600 inmates released from Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh to slow pandemic” had me thinking was that it’s about time. But it shouldn’t take a pandemic for this to happen.

According to a report released by University of Pittsburgh’s Criminal Justice Progress Panel last year, 19% of ACJ inmates were convicted of a violent crime, while the remaining population had misdemeanors pending trials. In 2019, 28% of the jail population were only to be released by cash bail, when this goal is not obtainable for them. Despite potentially being innocent, the poor are criminalized for being poor.

Before this outbreak there were approximately 2,400 people inside ACJ, reaching maximum capacity. This makes it a dangerous environment for everyone in that building. And most of the people there are not “criminals” — they are people who should be released.

If the jail wasn’t overcrowded, this issue would be smaller. However, with the disease rapidly spreading, we need even more rapid action. People aren’t being released fast enough. If we want this disease to stop spreading, then we need to put our biases aside and to treat everyone as human.

Joseph Onstott, Carrick

John Prine’s words will help you through

Singer-songwriter John Prine spent over 40 years writing about everyday people living their lives. His lyrics were filled with humor and empathy, something we all need more than ever.

As a Vietnam veteran, I loved his songs about “Sam Stone” and “Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore.” Sam Stone was a veteran who came home unable to cope with his daily life. Flag decal speaks for itself.

Prine’s songs are worth listening to right now. Look him up on YouTube. His words will help you get through these trying times. Death will not put out the light Prine shed on the darkness.

Howard Bronder, Harrison