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For those concerned about reforming the American health care system, the recent Senatorial election in Massachusetts was very disappointing. That’s because the new Senator (Scott Brown) is on record as saying that he will not support President Obama’s health care reform plan. His vote would enable Senate Republicans to use the filibuster to stop passage of any health care reform bill they did not like. And so far, they have not liked most of what the Senate Democrats have proposed.
This is politics with a capital P, and both parties have played a role in getting us here. It has little to do with health care and a lot to do with what President Obama in his State of the Union address referred to as “scoring political points.” It’s all about garnering votes in the next election, winning the majority in the Congress, and therefore, gaining (or keeping) the larger office, the committee chairmanship, the status and power that comes with leadership as part of the majority party, etc.
Of course, the Democrats are hardly blameless in this venture. Lobbyists and various interest groups have pressured progressive Senators to pump up the health reform bill with something for everyone, making it easy for conservatives to line up against its passage.
This situation might not be so bleak if the electorate weren’t so polarized; but it is. And unless the President can find a way to make leaders in both parties see the wisdom in hammering out a reasonable health care reform bill soon, another election cycle will pass without action on this most important issue.
If that were to happen, the unfortunate result would be that the 50 million Americans who lack health insurance would continue to suffer. For these people, the reformation of health care in this country is not simply an esoteric topic of discussion. It is literally (to use the colloquial phrase) as serious as a heart attack.
That’s because low income families lacking health insurance often must choose between taking a sick loved one to the doctor and putting food on the table. Many already are unable to receive outpatient treatment for medical or psychiatric conditions that might be resolved effectively if addressed in a timely manner. Although minor conditions may pass without creating lasting trauma to the individual, more serious conditions tend to worsen, requiring emergency intensive treatment. Such treatment is much more expensive and not always sufficient to remedy the problem. If treatment does not occur in time, the result might be even more tragic, resulting in disability or death.
Of course, those of us lucky enough to be among the other 250 million other Americans who have health insurance don’t need to worry so much about reforming the health system, right? Hardly. Even if our moral compass is not easily swayed by the concerns of our uninsured citizens, there is always the cost issue. The general consensus among both researchers and lay people is that we are all paying far too much for what we are getting in health care services. Then there also are the coverage issues: e.g. none for pre-existing conditions, various limitations coverage that seem illogical, increasing limits on brand name medications, etc.
I won’t pretend to have the solution for all of our national health care policy problems. But I am convinced that solutions exist, and they can be found among our very talented and educated populace. Maintaining the status quo—an archaic, fragmented, prohibitively expensive, coverage-limited health care non-system—is not acceptable to me any more, and I hope it is not acceptable to you.
If the health care reform debate ends without action once again, we can always blame the politicians. But the fact is, in this era of instant internet polls on every imaginable topic, our elected officials are more attuned than ever to public opinion. If the public spoke with a loud voice that it would not wait any longer for America to have a genuine health care system, that assured adequate coverage for all of its citizens at an affordable cost, there is no doubt that it would happen, and happen quickly.
The time has come for us to realize that true leadership in the question of health care reform will have to come from the body politic—that’s us. That means that we have to demand it from Congress and the President. No excuses, just solid planning and prompt action. Like President Obama, we didn’t promise them it would be easy; but it needs to happen.
Good people are dying for lack of prompt access to affordable health care. For them, the time for debate is over. For them it is literally a matter of life and death. |
