Thoughts on the Health Care Summit

I watched the health care summit today. It was fascinating. I couldn't tear myself away.

When I wasn't watching it on TV I was streaming it online and I must say it was nice to see Democrats and Republicans actually sitting around a table discussing the issues rather than yelling insults and spinning half truths at each other.

It was also refreshing to see the meeting led by a President who has not only mastered critical thinking, but who can also manage to string two declarative sentences together without tripping over his own tongue. Well, there I said it. I couldn't help thinking about George Bush. But that is the last thing I'll say about him.

Clearly, I am a Democrat. I'd be happy with a government- run, single- payer health care system, or what people are calling " Medicare for All." Since that isn't going to happen, I'll settle for the public option but we must do something. The current system is totally broken. The personal stories coming from both sides of the aisle were bone chilling.

I think the men and women sitting in that room, both Democrat and Republican felt a glimmer of hope. I know I did. For the first time I really understood the vast difference in the vision of Government held by Democrats and Republicans as the Republicans explained their position logically. Each side stopped the other from outrageous political grandstanding and they really got down to brass tacks. You could feel the mood change as both sides relaxed.

By the end of it, I, at least, felt that a workable compromise just might be possible. It felt good to see people listening to each other instead of hurling insults and it was amazing to watch the two sides gingerly admit they might have more in common than they thought they had. I was thrilled to watch the system move out of gridlock and begin to work.

I'm turning off the TV now and breathing a sigh of relief. Thank God we have an intelligent grown up in the White House who isn't afraid to take the initiative and actually lead. Hooray for the Health Care Summit. I think it just might lead to something good.

In Lieu of Flowers, Pass Health Care Reform

Senator Edward Kennedy, the lion of Liberalism, is dead after 46 years in the United States Senate. As I write this post, a motorcade is making its way through the streets of Boston. I'm watching it on TV, and it feels like the entire population of the city is lining the roadways to say good-bye.

Not surprising since there has been a Kennedy representing Massachusetts in the United States Senate for more than half a century. For the past 46 years, that Kennedy has been Edward "Teddy" Kennedy, who started out the bad boy baby brother of a sitting President and ended up a beloved and respected. senior statesman.

Edward Kennedy was no flash in the pan. He was not a shooting star that burned bright before burning out as many thought he might be in his youth. It turned out that in spite of his personal foibles and disappointments, he was a tortoise not a hare; a man for the long haul, who spoke truth to power and remained true to his liberal political values, even when they were not popular.

Yes, he was a rake, a womanizer, a drinker whose name will forever be associated with a shameful incident at Chappaquiddick, and he cheated on his Spanish exam at Harvard. But he was also a man who was tempered by pain and who learned from his mistakes. With maturity he grew in moral stature and resolve. He was a proud liberal who authored 2500 bills, most of which passed into law. From Voting Rights and Minimum Wage to The Americans with Disabilities Act and No Child Left Behind, Senator Kennedy championed ordinary people. He never forgot who he was in Washington to work for,

He was also a skilled politician; a deal maker who knew how to get things done, and health care, was one of the things he wanted to get done. He started working on a national health care program during the Nixon Administration. He supported Hillary and Bill Clinton's ill fated attempt in 1994. He was an important backer of President Obama's current health care reform, and until ill heath prevented his participation, worked tirelessly behind the scenes and on both sides of the aisle to see it come to fruition

There are those who say that now that he is gone, so is all hope of meaningful health care reform. There are others who feel that health care reform stands a better chance of making it through Congress this fall as a fitting memorial to Senator Kennedy. If you are in favor of meaningful health care reform which includes a public option, let your voice be heard. Most of us can't line the streets of Boston or attend a viewing or funeral. So, in lieu of flowers, let's pass health care reform when Congress re-convenes this fall.






photo courtesy of http://kennedy.senate.gov/senator/

Medicare Is Socialized Medicine

Listen up my fellow Americans, especially those of you who fear that socialized medicine is the work of Satan.

Here in America we already have socialized medicine in the form of Medicare, a single payer, government run system for people over 65 and the disabled. Medicare comes in two parts. Part A covers hospitalization and Part B covers various tests and outpatient treatments.

Guess what, under this government run, single payer system, seniors get to choose their own doctors, their own hospitals, and since their health care is administered by the federal government, its administrative costs are much less than those of private health insurance companies( even given bloated government bureaurocracy).

There are no referrals or permissions necessary as with HMO's. On top of that, every hospital in the country accepts Medicare which means a New Yorker who breaks an arm in Arizona won't be turned away from the local emergency room if he hasn't got cash or a credit card. Medicare is good everywhere in the United States.

Scare Tactics

It amazes me how many grey-hairs I see in videos and TV coverage of the protests against the health care legislation now being hammered out in Congress. I'm stunned to find that many of these mature adults who are screaming about socialized medicine like it was the end of days, do not realize that Medicare, on which they rely, is socialized medicine. It may not be perfect, but it works. Every doctor I know spends more time hassling with insurance companies and filling out forms than seeing patients. Physicians can opt out of Medicare, but most don't. The fees aren't as high as for private insurance, but there is less hassle and they do get paid. Every hospital has a huge accounting staff just to handle insurance billing as every Insurance company has different rules, different forms and a different contract with the hospital.

Here's what folks. The American health care system is broken. We have to fix it, pronto. Entrenched Insurance interests are trying to scare the pants off you not because they care about you, but because they care about their bottom line. They won't make as much money if everybody has the single payer government option. It's that simple. They are businesses with a primary fiduciary responsibility to their investors and shareholders not to you. You are the product on which they make a profit. That's the way business works and in this country, health care is a business and a very lucrative one at that.

If I have to choose between corporate greed and government beaurocracy, I'll take the government. But you don't have to. As the President says " If you like your present plan you can keep it" Something for everybody. In the meantime, please remember that Medicare is not a dirty word.. Millions of seniors depend upon it and are happy to have it.