Who gets to pay for health care?

Thank you for the Opinion page article ``Clinton's Health-Care Plan and the Generation Gap,'' Oct. 8. The issue of community rating is of prime concern for me and my peers. Prior to reading this article, I had yet to notice anyone mentioning the idea that one's insurance premiums should be determined according to the degree to which one uses medical care.

It is commonly known among health-care providers that there are two distinct types of people, those who frequently seek medical assistance and those who do not. It is a grave disservice to those who do not use medical services to be lumped into same average as those who are frequent users.

For example, I am a self-employed woman who has spent less than $2,000 on my health care for the total of my 34 years. Is it a form of freedom to require that I spend more than this each year for a service I will rarely use?

I would like to see consideration given to one's personal health history in projecting future health needs and thereby the cost of insurance. This is, after all, the business of insurance - to determine risk factors into premiums. Marie Shih, Seattle

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