I was furious reading on the Internet your news story, "Americans lack medical coverage: study'' [Jan. 18], and how a diabetic man lost his foot because he couldn't afford to take care of an infection. I have seen this happen many times in my profession. To have close to 44 million people uninsured in our rich nation is shameful. 

    Meanwhile, we have insurance companies and their HMOs getting richer every year by denying and limiting care, and pharmaceutical corporations making billions from the misfortunes of others. 

    Eli Siegel, the great philosopher and economist who founded Aesthetic Realism in 1941, was right when he showed that health care based on profit is unethical because it is "based on contempt for people.'' 

Jaime R. Torres 
Chief, Podiatric Services 
Coler Memorial Hospital 
Roosevelt Island, N.Y.