Solution to insurance rates lies in free market

I see an article in the Daily Inter Lake by Dan Weinberg, the Democrat candidate for Senate District 2, where he states that he wants to "Work to place controls on how insurance companies invest. They should not be taking financial risks with our money."

Does Dan believe insurance companies should only invest in government bonds? Or should they buy gold with the reserves they are holding for when we make claims on our policies?

I agree it is disappointing when insurance rates go up because their stock market investments go down. But overall, it tends to keep insurance rates lower - and our economy higher - when these reserves are invested in the stock market, residential mortgages, and other capitalistic investments.

In his article he also asserts that we have lost control over our own health care. He says he will also encourage insurance companies to create new programs with lower rates, that would cover catastrophic illness only. He seems to realize that the more we turn our health care over to the government, the less individual control we have over it.

Last session, Republican Representative Joe McKenney carried the bill which allowed New West Healthcare to start a pilot program with limited health care coverage with affordable prices. In order to accomplish this we had to set aside a lot of big government regulations which were established in the past when Democrats held the majority in our state legislature.

If Weinberg really wants to give us more individual control over our health care, then he should run as a Republican because that is the party which normally supports free markets rather than socialized medicine.

Jerry O'Neil

Columbia Falls