A new form of balderdash was unveiled today in "Health plan is driven by consumer" (Tribune, Sept. 23). Utah business execs struggled mightily, without a trace of either embarrassment or shame, to say that the root of the health insurance problem is that employers pay all or part of workers' health insurance premiums. Now, you know where this is going - these elite execs then asserted that health-care Nirvana can easily be achieved if employers stopped providing negative incentives by helping to pay workers' health insurance premiums. This a real knee-slapper; I can hear you laughing now.

Normally such balderdash would appear as a bad joke in the funny pages. Unfortunately, it was in the "Money" section, and these business execs weren't kidding. So brace yourself, Utah workers. In addition to paying to further enrich profligate Wall Street gamblers, your new Utah health-care "bill of rights" will make you healthier by freeing your employer from paying any part of your health insurance premiums.

Don L. Miller

St. George