ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
Now to your letters and most of them zero in on something that our health policy correspondent said in yesterday's program. Julie Rovner and I discussed health care costs, specifically, how tax dollars pay for a big chunk of many Americans' health coverage. Start with Medicare and Medicaid recipients and people in the military, that's about 100 million people, and Julie said, add to that all kinds of government workers.
JULIE ROVNER, BYLINE: There's about 28 million people who work for either the federal government or state or local government. These are not just federal workers, but teachers, firefighters, police officers, so if you add all of those people together, you get somewhere over 40 percent of the population whose health insurance is basically paid for by a governmental entity.
MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:
Well, we received a number of emails adding to what Julie said. They point out that most civil servants kick in a chunk of their own cash for health insurance, as well.
Doug Woods(ph) of Eugene, Oregon, writes this. For the Federal Employees' Health Benefit Plan, the government pays three-quarters of the cost of health care. The employee is responsible for one-quarter of the cost of the premium, plus any deductibles and co-pays, which vary from plan to plan.
SIEGEL: That sentiment was echoed by Ted Swedenburg(ph) who wrote to us from Fayetteville, Arkansas. He writes, I am a state employee, a professor at the University of Arkansas. One might get the impression from your discussion that I get insurance for free at the expense of the state. In fact, I pay about $1,450 a year for my insurance coverage and the state pays two-thirds of my insurance expenses. My co-pays are also quite high. When I had cataract surgery, my co-pays amounted to around $1,500.
BLOCK: Well, now to a lighter topic: Marmite. That's the yeast extract spread that's very popular in New Zealand. Supplies are dwindling, thanks to trouble at the processing plant, and the company offered some tips to conserve the country's breakfast staple.
PIERRE VAN HEERDEN: What we are asking consumers is maybe if they could have their Marmite on toast to ration it a little bit, maybe only have it once a day or every second day.
SIEGEL: New Zealanders could substitute Australian Vegemite, which we described as a food product similar to Marmite. But Steven Linton(ph) in Flemington, New Jersey begs to differ. He writes this: I should point out that Marmite originated in Great Britain, where I am from, and to call it a culinary cousin of Vegemite is a mortal insult to Marmite lovers around the globe.
He goes on to say, although my friends down under would no doubt disagree, Vegemite pales into obscurity in comparison to the mighty Marmite. I'm off for a cheese and Marmite sandwich right now.
BLOCK: Be sure to spread it thinly, Mr. Linton.
SIEGEL: And if you think our news coverage is a little thin, write to us.
BLOCK: Go to NPR.org and click on Contact Us at the bottom of the page.
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