Mercy, St. Luke’s spending out of control

The Cedar Rapids health care system is out of control. The millions of dollars spent annually in competition, duplication and advertising between Mercy Medical Center and St. Luke's Hospital is reprehensible and drives up costs for patients.

Health care in this area is inferior to Madison, the Twin Cities, or Rochester. Rochester's Mayo clinics and hospitals are far superior at all levels.

Now, the local medical wonders want Cedar Rapids to close Second Avenue, complicate entrance into the burgeoning downtown area, and assist in building an ornate clinic for them. I see no evidence that we need this structure or that it would benefit anyone other than local doctors.

Like big oil and big banking, the Linn County area health care industry is out of control and unwilling to self-regulate. How can we expect Congress to create regulations on health care costs when Cedar Rapids citizenry cannot control its own hospitals and clinics?

St. Luke's and Mercy need to merge. The Second Avenue medical building needs to be stopped. Let us start to control medical costs at home. Cedar Rapids needs to tell the physicians and health care administrators that we are not going to stand for their unfettered spending.

Stephen D. Regan

Cedar Rapids