High Def Healthcare

Anyone who has gone from a standard television set to a new 'high definition' one will tell you there is nothing like it! You can almost see blades of grass growing. Well maybe not the actual growing process but if you look carefully you can see individual blades!

Looking at nature in this way is wonderful and enlightening. Some of our most amazing discoveries can be traced back to the ability to see even the tiniest of details. Go back and find an old book titled, "The Microbe Hunters" by Paul de Kruif. This book was first published in 1926 but has since been reprinted several times so you may still find a copy for yourself. (Or you could click the link provided and sit at the computer for days.)

The idea of looking at something more closely is not new nor should it ever get old. It is the most important part of understanding the knowledge the world around us offers.

However at some point we must use the knowledge gained by our minute examination to act on what we learn.

The current climate swirling around the health care reform debate in our country has been getting closer scrutiny than any issue I can remember in recent times. The anger it has unleashed on both sides of an argument that really should not have sides is amazing.

But if we put the issue under the microscope we can boil it down to fundamentals that would make the old masters of science and medicine proud.

I will not be able to list every point being made by every voice in the debate but I can say that a few truths do come to mind at the outset.

1. We all would like to be as healthy as possible for as long as possible.

2. We would all like to attain 'point #1' while we still have some money left to enjoy life.

3. Capitalism, American style is the way we do business in this country.

4. As long as we do not break the law we do not wish to allow others to decide how we live.

5. If someone infringes on our freedom or attempts to harm us we must stop them.

6. We have a terrible system of Government that just happens to be the best in the world at this time.

7. We expect certain services to be handled at the Government level in return for our taxes.

8. Some people will attempt to play the system in order to get ahead no matter who they harm.

9. Health care is WAY too expensive and getting worse!

Naturally there are many more lines one could add to the above list and most would be apropos however the longer the list the less people will read it to the end.

And that brings me to the final point. We are being afforded an unbelievable glimpse into the workings, or failures of our Government with the 24 hour news cycle and hundreds of choices on Cable networks. We cannot possibly hear, see or read everything that is thrown out for our consumption. NOR SHOULD WE!

Do we really need to see that blade of grass grow? Isn't it enough to know that we examined the soil and determined that we used the right fertilizer and that a few days later the lawn was more plush?

It is time for the U S Congress to do the right thing. We have seen the blemishes on the face of our health care system. We understand that the health insurance industry is not going softly into that good night and we are not asking them to do so.

What we are asking, no demanding is a system that offers us a choice in that most basic of rights, our health!

Many say that they do not want a bureaucrat in DC to decide how we get our health care or how much it should cost.

But they are looking at an old 'low def' TV.

Right now what we have is a 'bean counter' in Dubuque deciding whether a woman in Maine should be allowed to have the surgery she so desperately needs! And to make matters worse that bean counter gets a bigger bonus if he can deny health care and save the company money! The only other winner in this scenario is the lady's local mortuary.

We have options in everything we do and yet our country is still the best there is in the world. We choose paper or plastic; NBC or CBS; Honda or Ford; and unfortunately Republican or Democrat. Why not allow us to choose our health care insurers? Trust us to see the issues clearly enough to make the right choice!