In a letter to the editor on May 16, Shelly Gehshan of the Pew Charitable Trusts acknowledged that I was correct in my op-ed column published on May 8. I noted that Pew had made one of the most embarrassing errors in recent public health memory by accidentally inflating untreated tooth decay rates in the U.S. by 600 perrcent, thereby showing that New Zealand schoolchildren have the same level of untreated tooth decay as children in the U.S. This despite universal, government-funded, school-based dental care in New Zealand performed by dental therapists for almost 100 years.

An award was given to Dr. Kermit Gosnell for murdering babies. Will Jodi Arias be given the same award for murdering her boyfriend? The award from the taxpayers is free healthcare, free food, free heat, free clothes and the knowledge that they beat the system.

So our governor — who gets a pension and government paid health insurance for the rest of his life even if he serves only one term — has decided that 45,000 Mainers who are living in or near poverty will get no help with their health insurance. According to the Center on Budget Priorities, www.cbpp.org/files/healthtoolkit2012/Maine.pdf), the federal government would pay for 45,000 Mainers to get health insurance if LePage said yes. Expanding Medicaid would save the state of Maine $573 million because the federal government would pay the whole cost for this insurance.

Health care cost is one of the most serious concerns for our country and our state. Yes, we need to pay the hospitals. They continue, in most instances without question, to care for our uninsured and underinsured.