It has been reported that Orrin Hatch sent a letter requesting that feedback on the AHCA be sent to healthreform@Finance.senate.gov before May 23, 2017. Though I was not a recipient of the letter, I nevertheless took the opportunity to share some of my thoughts with him.

Dear Mr. Hatch,

As I'm sure you'll agree, preserving the health of our nation - its institutions, its finances, and most critically its citizens and visitors - is one of the principal obligations entrusted by the people to our political leaders. I write to you today to ask you to reflect on this obligation, and to take specific action: to help build an institution to protect our great nation's finances and its people. I ask you to help rebuild the Affordable Care Act, to improve it in both purpose and execution, to ensure its health and ours.

I ask, if you must refer to your improvements as a replacement, that you replace the ACA with a single-payer system which guarantees coverage to all. One which guarantees that the economic losses and waste due to our current system's constant bickering about who should pay how much for what services will be eliminated. One that frees our medical professionals to provide the best care and advice possible, guided by careful research and the best available evidence, not the strictures of the patient's pocketbook or the desires of drug and medical device makers.

As your colleagues in government, both in Washington D.C. and across our country, weaken and repeal laws and regulations which help ensure that we have clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and unpolluted soils in which to grow our crops, the burden will fall to our health care system to patch up the damage as best they can. We need, now more than ever, a robust, functional, and capable health care system which works to ensure the health of all Americans.

I urge you, in short, to support our civilization. For what is civilization but the coming together of a group of people to pool their resources for their collective good?

Thank you for your kind attention to this most urgent matter,

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