I love all the letters to the editor, the newspaper articles, the discussion & debate and ultimately the fact we are publicly addressing a “broken” national program – the US healthcare system.

 

Three themes seem to dominate the discussion.

 

Change is scary.

 

While I would like to believe there is such heated debate over healthcare because people would like to do what is right, I tend to believe a lot of the rhetoric surrounds fear of change. Within all the discussion there is certainly a strong thread of “I don’t know what it should look like but I know what I don’t want it to look like.”

Sometimes that type of discussion freezes people into inaction.

I am certainly not proposing being hasty or thoughtless (and if anyone truly believes the policy isn’t being discussed seriously and well thought out…well…they are crazy) but at some point we need to stop talking and start doing. The current system is flawed. Any system we end up putting in place will have some flaws (just less than the one we have, one should believe) but…does it have to be perfect? Absolutely not. I realize perfection is impractical (if we want to fix the current state at least within the next millennium).

 

Profitability.

 

Senator Jay Rockefeller D-WVa “the insurance companies in my judgment are determined to protect their profits.” I have seen or heard derivations of this thought throughout the healthcare debate – from the public as well as the government. Okay people.

First. They are a business. In a competitive marketplace. Their purpose is to make a profit (or a not for profit company). Unless mandated otherwise they are permitted to make a profit (and people can elect a different choice if they don’t like it). Okay. I know I made a sweeping point with a lot of debatable aspects but since when has a business in a competitive marketplace been restricted on profitability? Second. Anyone who knows anything about healthcare finances and managing “risk to insure everyone receives coverage in the event of a catastrophe” is a tricky proposition. Suffice it to say I would rather they make some money rather than not have enough money if a catastrophe happens.

 

Third. Re-investing profits back into the business. Interestingly most healthcare companies have excellent programs developed and available. And if people used these programs the company may actually be a little less profitable, charge less and, best of all, there would be a healthier population.

 

Government & Politics.

 

 

Yikes. I understand we are talking about a possible government program solution (and I am not overly thrilled by that) but let’s give government a break here. Historically, in general, the government has been quite good at developing effective national programs. They have shown the ability to develop concepts that reach the majority and create an infrastructure to support it. Their struggles typically fall into ongoing implementation (good at beginning/onset and increasingly worse as time goes on). And revising and improving the system, which would include having to revise the infrastructure, is where government programs seem to fall apart. To be fair, I tend to believe it is the politics involved that make it impossible for the government to be good at re-inventing programs (because we know they have smart people involved thinking about it, so the system stops the innovation – similar to many large companies to conclude that thought).

So I wish everyone would get off their “government big brother” high horse and just let them implement a program to fix the situation.

 

Next.

Politics.

Yikes part 2.

If there has ever been a topic a politician can get some free press over, this is it. It’s like Christmas for politicians. I don’t really care what side of the aisle they are on (I wish they would be forced to wear home and away uniforms so I could keep track of them) but I do wish everyone would stop talking and start voting – and even better – start supporting the program.

 

The initial program ain’t gonna be perfect. Let me repeat that. It won’t be perfect. If we want to wait until the perfect program is ready we should be prepared to do so after all the glaciers have melted (and healthcare may not be the biggest issue at hand).

 

 

My conclusion (and concern)

 

I love the debate. Free speech at its best. I love the fact that people care enough to stand up and be heard. To be honest I love the conflict. I believe the conflict will spark positive friction for a dialogue for change.

 

I hate the politics of this. This is the time where I question whether government truly understands what is important (and it is not Republican versus Democrat arm wrestling).

 

I understand the difficult situation healthcare companies are in (and I actually have some empathy for them). I also believe if someone just sets up “the rules” they will figure out a way to play to them and consumers will get great options in the competitive environment.

 

My concern (and it is a BIG one). We are going to get frozen in inaction because of all the debate (and politics). The debate should hone the outcome to a more useful point.

 

Whether you like him or not, Former President Clinton in USAToday on health care: ‘The worst thing to do is nothing.’

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Written by Bruce