Apparently, you are not aware or don't care to illuminate the Highline Hospital's recent failure to support local area citizens on Medicare with AARP supplemental insurance.

I was told by my primary-care physician's office people [Dr. Scott Slaymaker] that Highline Hospital and therefore his associated practice would not be able to use AARP Medicare Supplemental insurance for 2008.

Another medical source tells me that the reason for this Highline Hospital decision was that the United Healthcare/Secure Horizons insurance company [the largest in the United States] was not paying enough to the hospital or the area physicians.

Highline then decided to go into the insurance business and now offers their own are coverage under the name of "Puget Sound Health Partners." Compared to the AARP program, it offers less coverage for more senior-citizen payment and lists the Rite Aide drug store as the pharmacy of choice, eliminating the 100-year-old Bartell chain from the accepted list.

Highline Hospital and all the associated local physicians should be aware by now that this action is not helping their business income and I propose that they resume negotiations with United Healthcare and re-establish AARP Medicare Supplemental insurance coverage for the community's confused senior citizens.

Gil Arroyo

Burien