Top Long Island high schools, and no mental health drugs on Medicare list 

Top LI schools great if you can afford it

One cannot review the list of top Long Island high schools without recognizing that they share two attributes: vision and money “Report: 23 high schools on LI among tops in U.S.,” News, Aug. 29]. The absence of either would make it almost impossible for the parents, administrators, teachers and students to achieve what these remarkable schools have accomplished.

So I feel delight in the opportunities given to these students but sadness for the many youngsters who will not be afforded the rich brew of learning experiences that these top performers continue to make available.

It seems cruel to suggest, as does Liana Loewus, managing editor of education at U.S. News, that parents only need to move to the better school districts that her publication’s data identify.

In articles such as this one, it would be more honest for Newsday to acknowledge the reality that affluent, tax-rich communities provide their students with a priceless learning experience, one that actually does have a price, but just for those families that can afford to pay it.

— Joan Daly-Lewis, Port Jefferson

As parents and homeowners, we place an emphasis on a quality education in Suffolk County and certainly pay high school taxes to achieve it. So I’m disappointed to learn of our weak overall rankings as measured against the top 1,000 U.S. schools.

Our county didn’t even place one school in the top 250 while only two managed a top 500 ranking. Compared to Nassau County, it wasn’t even close. Its top five high schools beat Suffolk’s highest ranked, and 16 high schools placed in the top 1,000 while only seven came from Suffolk.

If I were a Suffolk County school superintendent, I’d be concerned about Suffolk’s mediocre showing and look for ways to improve performance.

— Gary Anderson, Smithtown

It’s Adams who’s off about the migrants

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is way off base in saying that Gov. Kathy Hochul is wrong about the handling of the migrant situation [“Gov ‘wrong’ on migrant policy, Adams says,” News, Aug. 30]. Hochul made a balanced decision. I still think she represents me and by making this decision, the governor spoke for the people of Nassau County.

In addition, I imagine that Adams voted for President Joe Biden in 2020, so he voted, in effect, for what is happening with the migrants. I do not understand the apparent Democratic position of allowing undocumented people into our country to live on the streets. I find that inhumane.

— Bob Damato, Floral Park

The first opinion on a recent page of letters about the migrant situation was the most intelligent discourse I have heard on this subject [“What to do about city’s migrants,” Letters, Aug. 27]. It makes sense, not only for the present but for the future, regarding a need-based quota and mandatory military service.

Has any politician come up with an answer even close to this? I hope someone with authority reads it.

— Audrey M. Wilken, Wading River

Mental health drug not on Medicare list?

We are told that billions of dollars of resources are being allocated to the mental health crisis in this country. Many people believe mental illness to be the sole cause of gun violence in the United States.

But on reading the list of drugs that Medicare can negotiate, four are for diabetes, one is for cancer, one is for rheumatoid arthritis, at least one is for heart disease, two are blood thinners and one is for psoriasis [“Medicare pricing drugs named,” News, Aug. 30]. These are all very important drugs for devastating illnesses.

But there is not a single drug included for the treatment of mental health disorders. The pharmaceutical companies keep making drugs that are beyond the reach of the average patient. We have to stop talking about what we are going to do in the mental health field and just do it.

— Janet Klinger, Plainview

The audacity and greed of the drug companies know no limits. I read with awe that sales of the drugs the government has picked to “negotiate” better pricing total more than $50 billion.

And this is only from the sales to Medicare participants — also add sales from non-Medicare users and foreign countries. The drug companies saying this new pricing will inhibit their ability to do additional research is laughable.

Why we pay triple what some other countries pay is also not understandable. Kudos to President Joe Biden’s administration for trying to rein in this money grab from Big Pharma.

— Lou Nigro, Greenport