Health Care - Guest Editorial

by Kurt Hoffman

Regardless of political party affiliation, our nation faces a problem with our health care system. It's sad that people in the United States are afraid to go to the doctor because of how much it may cost.

Tonight, I watched an excellent program on PBS' Frontline on Health Care Systems around the world. It was a comparative look at the health care systems in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany,Taiwan, and Switzerland. There is much for us as a nation to examine in this election year. I won't regurgitate the entire program for you, because I'd rather you see it for yourself. It's available online at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/

We must call upon our politicians and candidates to do something about health care in the United States. Personally, I like the method that the Taiwanese used, a careful examination of the systems of many countries. They then used what they thought was the best from each of those, and strived to learn from the mistakes of others.

In order to change our system for the betterment of everyone, I propose that a committee from various parties be formed:
1) Those representing doctors and medical professionals,
2) A group representing private industry (insurance companies and employers),
3) Representative of government
4) Private citizens to be selected using the same sampling methods as jury duty.

They would then spend 90 days traveling the world to study what other companies are doing regarding health care, meeting their counterparts in those countries. After the 90 day period, they will have 30 days to develop a new health care plan for the United States. Their plan will then be presented to the nation for a vote after 6 months. No outside organization would be permitted to utilize the media either for or against the plan, to prevent tainting the perception of the plan. The government will be required to provide a summary of the plan to each registered voter in the country. No Electoral College, no House and Senate approval, no Presidential veto. A pure and simple voice of the people vote. Should it pass the popular vote, the President must sign it into law or face impeachment.

I'm not an expert on the issue of health care, but it is too important for us to continue down the path we are currently on. At present, 15% of our Gross National Product is spend on health care, or $7.1 Trillion in 2007 (That's roughly $7600 per person). Our health care system is one of, if not the most, expensive in the world.

This issue is too important for us as a nation to be silent about. It's literally life and death.