Illuminating the Health Care Debate

As Congress approaches a vote this week on Health Care Reform some final illumination is needed. First we must ask ourselves once and for all is the caring of a sick human being a right or a privilege? If we are the Christian society many of us believe us to be the answer must be yes.
So if we can accept that premise then all that needs to be decided is how to deliver upon that ideal.
Most other countries that have went down this path have used the single payer model. All of these systems succeed at varying degrees in providing basic health care to their citizens. We are the only major industrialized country that does not. So what would work for us given our penchant for market based solutions. Well the obvious answer is some sort of social/market hybrid. Similar to the Canadian or French models. The current approach seems headed in this direction. Private insurance will be the big winner here but in this country noting gets done unless everyone gets paid. Not exactly a human approach but a very American one. In this very middle of the road approach everyone appears to getting something and giving something. Now the process has not been pretty as the making of sausage never is. But sadly some very heavy lifting had to be done by one political party as the other for political gamesmanship decided not to play. As with all American legislation this will be neither left nor right but somewhere in the middle.
What do we know of the current market based approach? Well we know it leaves 30 million Americans at risk everyday. With that number increasing daily. We know the current system kills 122 a day, 44,530 a year. We now that the insurance industry insured 2.5 million less Americans while increasing profits by 56%. We know companies like WellPoint made 5.4 billion dollars profit in the fourth quarter while raising rates for some it's customers by 39%. We know of an industry that will deny and cancel the coverage of sick people. We know that in state like Texas over 25% of the population have not insurance. We know that in most states they have a virtual monopoly on the business. Is this a free market? Is this a market that has the interest of their customers in mind? Given the the evidence the answer must be no. Conclusion the current Market based system is unsustainable and is killing the people it is supposed to serve in favor of high profits.
What's in this bill? While not perfect, this bill has much to get us down the road to a sustainable health care system. It will allow the purchase of insurance across state lines with protections for state law. It will allow for TORT reform and look to limit liability of malpractice lawsuits. It will form a Government pool for the 30 million uninsured Americans so they can purchase insurance at affordable rates. It looks to emulate best health care practices and duplicate them across the system. The Bill further creates a much needed health care data base that aid in the elimination of costly duplicate or over testing. While not being all things to all people it is a start. We can not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Lets us take this and with all things American make it better over time.
What the bill is not? Simply put this is not Socialist Bill, as some would have your believe. This is a market based approach where believe me the capitalist interest will get paid. It requires all Americans to PURCHASE insurance, nothing will be FREE. Let me repeat that, nothing will be FREE. This is the biggest Myth the opponents to this much needed reform would have you believe. In closing any objective unbiased look at this would see the standard, pure Vanilla middle of the road, Mom and Pop approach to anything this country has ever tried to do. Hey, what the hell I like Vanilla!