Health Care Reform

This is a hot topic this year, or should I say it has been a hot topic for about 40 years. Do we want to socialize our care? If we make our care into a social system, are we then a socialistic government?

I think that we have to get beyond the fear of the word socialism. These aren't the McCarthy years, and we aren't leaning to communism. Stop with the "anti-socialism" argument. Medicare and the Veterans Administration have been well run and something to be quite proud of, and no one screams about them being socialistic. They have been supremely well run and serve two sectors of society that we should be proud to protect.

But what about the rest of us. Health care in America is NOT a right. It is a luxury. It is afforded to very few, and the poorest among us throw themselves upon the mercy of the emergency rooms when they are sick, and then they don't have money to pay the bill. That becomes reflected in how much we pay when we paying patients enter the hospitals. We pay for our care and for their care. This isn't quite fair either.

I maintain that America has a fantastic medical infrastructure. We are at the brink of losing it, as many hospitals are having to close under the current system. Insure everyone we can, and the cost of insurance per person comes down considerably. Doctors and hospitals get paid, promptly, fairly, and their patients get first class care, promptly, fairly.

The current bill might not be perfect, but it is something. Wouldn't it make sense to clip the wings of big insurance companies that are making billions and raping us? Once in place, we can roll up our sleeves and refine that system until it is the finest system in the world. Better than Canada, better than France or Italy, and better than England.

We are America, and if anyone can do it and do it well, we can.