Bruce Blakeman, asthma inhalers, democracy

Divergent views of Blakeman’s remarks

It’s no wonder that Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman received no applause for his inappropriate and rude remarks at the Long Island Association’s State of the Region breakfast “No place for Blakeman jab,” Editorial, Jan. 9]. Considering that the purpose of the annual event is to advance regional cooperation to ensure Long Island’s economic future, it’s surprising he wasn’t booed.

Fortunately, all the other speakers understood that economic progress requires cooperation and coordination among all governmental levels — village, town, county, state and federal — with the private sector.

Long Island has many issues that will determine our economic future: an adequate supply of housing, wind energy, sustainable jobs, the Sands casino, Ronkonkoma’s Midway Crossing, and waste disposal, to name just a few. It is doubtful that Blakeman’s graceless remarks will negatively affect them. But it is unfortunate that they may detract from Long Island improving its future.

— Jim Morgo, Bayport

I agree wholeheartedly with Bruce Blakeman’s request for New York State to stay out of Long Island’s affairs. I pay a lot in taxes to live here and hate seeing my hard-earned money doled out to undocumented immigrants by Gov. Kathy Hochul. I’d hate to see Nassau County suffer consequences due to poor leadership, like some other communities.

I question Hochul’s assumption that people are leaving New York for states that are putting up housing at a faster rate. People are leaving for better areas because they are run more efficiently, are safer and are affordable. They provide a good environment to raise a family and don’t tax working members of society so they can provide for people seeking handouts.

Our current leaders in Albany and New York City are leading this once-great state down the tubes.

— Steven F. Cassidy, Franklin Square

Key information on asthma inhalers

Two important points need to be addressed in the article “Asthma drug concerns” [News, Jan. 5].

A spokesman for CVS Caremark, which handles Aetna’s prescription coverage, said the company analyzed the price differences between two Flovent drugs and found “the authorized generics were more expensive than the brand name medications.” This statement is false and disingenuous.

Generic Flovent’s cost to a pharmacy is approximately one-half the brand name cost, with the retail price having similar savings for the patient. The CVS Caremark spokesman is referring to the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) cost, which is based on a complicated and convoluted formula that benefits the PBM, not the patient, through rebates and kickbacks. The generic version is efficacious and cost-efficient for the patient.

Second point: how the inhalers work. Flovent is a spray that delivers the medication into the lungs and the patient just inhales. The CVS preferred brand, Pulmicort, which is also twice the price, is not a good alternative for some patients, since it must be inhaled like sucking a straw. Many patients cannot do this and effectively get the medication into their system due to a disability or other physical problems.

Patients should not be penalized by PBM policies.

— Peter Goldstein, Westbury

The writer has been a registered pharmacist for 39 years.

GOP eyes democracy: Well, that’s a switch

So with the threat of having its leading candidate left off ballots due to his inciting an insurrection, Republicans advocate in favor of democracy and letting the people in all states decide who should be president [“Ballot issue decision,” News, Jan. 6].

The GOP’s arguing for democracy is a decided turn of events. A GOP candidate lost the popular vote in 2000 and another GOP candidate lost again in 2016, but both were elected by the electoral vote, which former President Donald Trump tried to overturn three years ago.

If the GOP now favors democracy, it should join Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and others in trying to abolish the electoral college and letting the president be elected by the popular vote.

— Ray Boivie, Kings Park

When states start picking and choosing who can or can’t be on the ballot, we’re on a slippery slope. Whether or not you support Donald Trump is not the issue here. What should concern every American is that in a true democracy, any citizen can petition to run on a state’s ballot. When that option is taken away by the state or federal government, we are no longer living in a democracy.

When the government starts filtering our choice of candidates, are we then living in a dictatorship? Do we really want to give up freedom of choice?

— Tina Marie Soha, New Hyde Park

The Supreme Court’s decision to trash the “established law” of Roe v. Wade established that the constitutional protection of states’ rights is a priority over national rights. Since each state has its own election rules and regulations, the court should honor them by not overturning their decisions.

Colorado’s decision to bar former President Donald Trump from its ballot should not have been an issue for the Supreme Court. By choosing to hear and possibly overturn the Colorado decision, the high court will show itself as being a hypocritical, political pawn of the Republican Party.

— Lew Cohen, Jericho