Dare I say it? Let's get us some health care!

I have been struggling as I listen to the hostility to passing a health care plan.  I know that the debate has probably reached the point that every argument, for or against, has been regurgitated and every partisan has already closed their ears to the uncomfortable disagreements.   But I am angry that such an important issue is being treated so blithely.   For starters,  I understand and agree that most Americans do have some health care coverage and that they are generally happy with what they've got.  Great!  I'm in favor of them being able to keep it in the future.   But the reality is that the very large minority (a third) of people who don't have health care should and their current lack increases the costs for all those folks that do.   Secondly,  people are repeating the "government shouldn't force us to get coverage" line.  And I have not heard a reasonable response to the observation that the government forces us to have auto insurance in order to possess and drive a car.   That hasn't turned the car insurance business into a public sector mecca nor has it made rates skyrocket.   Yes, health care is more complicated than risk rating cars,  but the "insurance" part of health care as opposed to the "coverage" part isn't all that much of a mystery.  And because the risks and costs of the uninsured, chronically ill, and high risk folks affect us all,  it makes sense for the government to mandate an inclusive pool.    Then there's the observation that folks don't want the government intruding in their health care.  The reality is that the government already does,  as people have noted,  through Medicare.  But also through regulation, drug testing,  standards and licensing.  It's not the issue it's cracked up to be.   Lastly there is the objection that health care will be 'rationed' by the government.    And again, I have not heard a reasonable objection to the observation that medical services are already rationed by the marketplace.  And most people don't fare as well as they should under that rationing system.  Even the people who are getting the health care they pay for don't necessarily get the right health care because of the marketplace rationing.    

My Dad, before he died, was livid at the amount of waste in the health services system he was being helped by.  And I think in many ways he was right on the money.   The system, though, wasn't just the government or the medical profession or stockholders or insurance companies.  The system was jinxed by a combination of the above.   The reality is,  we have to make some big first steps toward change in order to make anything better.   And we need to do it soon.