Not so much choice

This is regarding the article in the paper Aug. 4 on Ramsey County retirees being notified by Health Partners that they plan no longer serving patients with UnitedHealthCare.

I would disagree with one point made late in the article: the comments saying that the retirees have a choice and can go elsewhere to get their insurance.  As a City of St. Paul retiree that is not true for me. If I take on an insurance plan or insurance supplement on my own, I permanently lose my retirement health coverages currently received through the city.  I am bound to take whatever plan the city chooses. For some, getting their own insurance may be a viable option but for most retirees that is not the case. We are not given an opportunity to choose what health insurance plan we are in. If we opt out of the offered plan, it is permanent. We cannot get coverage back once we leave the plan.

Health insurance benefits for new retirees have greatly diminished over the years through contract negotiations.  As the group of retirees receiving health insurance benefits continues to decline there is less concern by the city benefits coordinators and sadly the police federation as well. There is much more to this story and I hope your reporters continue to monitor and report what is happening with this situation.

Rick Anderson, Forest Lake

Joy?

Some of Gov. Tim Walz’s first words during his speech as Kamala Harris’ VP were,

“Thank you for bringing back the joy.”

No joy being Minnesota’s governor?

I think many of Walz’s constituents feel the same way.

Georgia Dietz, St. Paul

Sex ed for legislators

I’ve heard Minnesota Republican legislators say that they want to have a total abortion ban in Minnesota. Recently, Gov. Tim Walz also said, Republicans intend to ban abortions in Minnesota.

Maybe people who run for our Legislature should be required to pass a test on sex education and maternal health care, so they can understand the issues they want to control. I think it was a Missouri televised discussion about the law, and no one could explain the ectopic pregnancy exception, other than to say, “That’s how the law is written.” The man asking about it clearly didn’t understand what an ectopic pregnancy was. Our legislators should be able to understand the vocabulary used in the laws they pass. Do they understand what Minnesota will be like without maternal health care?

Rochelle McDonald, Hastings

Weird is the word

Thomas Friedman claims to know what is necessary to reach working class Americans (“Democrats could regret calling Trump and his supporters ‘weird’,” July 31). Friedman dislikes the term “weird” as name calling. He thinks Dems must use dignity-affirming words.

Maybe Friedman could then tell us what Trump/Vance and Republicans say or do to merit what he describes as dignity-affirming responses.

Let’s read Friedman’s response to Trump/Vance dignity-affirming statements such as:

Coronavirus is under control; Trump won the 2020 election; Trump didn’t know about $135,000 payment to Stormy Daniels; Immigrants steal Black jobs; book banning; President Biden ordered Trump’s assassination; Trump’s fixation with Hannibal Lecter; JD Vance on childless cat-ladies and 10-year-old rape victims forced to give birth; Kamala Harris’ racial identity a recent event; Harris hates Jews even though her husband is Jewish; Trump knows nothing about the Heritage Foundation’s 2025 Plan, global warming is a hoax.

I think we could name about 50 more examples but you get the idea.

I don’t know about Friedman, but I cannot think of a better term of response to such nonsensical statements than the simple all- encompassing term “weird” made by Gov. Tim Walz. Even Trump followers will admit such Trump/Vance statements are “weird.”

And “weird” is getting under Trump’s skin, as he is now claiming he’s not weird and that Dems are weird. The problem for Trump is he can’t name actual Democrat examples unless per usual he fabricates them.

Lee Salisbury, Stillwater

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