There is no such thing as free health care. Someone has to pay for it. If you divide the total cost of healthcare and make everyone pay, then some will pay more than they otherwise would and some will pay less. Those with no money will pay nothing, and those with a good income (not necessarily the wealthy) will pay a disproportionate share. The people who get more than they pay will find the new system to be good, and those who pay more than they get will disagree.

I think it all comes down to values. Our country was founded on the principle of enlightened self-interest, not equitable redistribution of wealth. That doesn't mean we let our neighbors starve, or die, it means that we help them because we choose to, not because there's a gun to our head. The difference between charity and robbery is the difference between compassion and compulsion. Robbery is never right, even if the robber is hungry or ill. The ends don't justify the means.

So, instead of passing a huge bill that very few of its Congressional supporters actually read, why didn't our leaders try to figure out what few, simple ideas could be incorporated into a bill that almost everyone would agree with? Like, letting individuals deduct insurance as well as companies, or putting a cap on malpractice lawsuits, or a simple $5 tax on every American that would cover catastrophic medical bills and allow insurance companies to sell low-price insurance for coverage under that cap, or letting insurers sell across state lines? Some things that everyone could have gotten behind… along with a clause that says “Let's try this for 5 years and it will automatically sunset unless we re-pass it because it works.” Maybe because “We won” was easier, and felt better, than saying “Let's work together” and meaning it.

I want health care to be what it was when my grandparents and my parents were young, and even when I was growing up. You had a doctor, who you selected based on what you knew about his/her qualifications and maybe based a little on how well you liked the doctor, too. The doctor provided the care you needed and recommended trusted specialists when necessary. You paid the doctor. That was it. No need for national ID cards, no real need for insurance because the litigator swamp hadn't filled up yet, no real need for insurance because the doctor was running his/her practice as a store, per se, and competing with other doctors for your business.

Everyone is so focused on trying to pit the insurance companies against the government – for heaven's sake, these groups are in bed with one another! There is no other, more genteel way to put it. They team up to suck the lifeblood out of the poor hapless customers/citizens (us).

That was it – all I had – just a lot of rambling, but I will end with a happy health care story: The doctor who brought me into the world just did a minor procedure on my grandmother about a year ago. She will be 90 in May, I think he is nearly as old, and both are still going strong!

I want health care to be what it was when my grandparents and my parents were young, and even when I was growing up. You had a doctor, who you selected based on what you knew about his/her qualifications and maybe based a little on how well you liked the doctor, too. The doctor provided the care you needed and recommended trusted specialists when necessary. You paid the doctor. That was it. No need for national ID cards, no real need for insurance because the litigator swamp hadn't filled up yet, no real need for insurance because the doctor was running his/her practice as a store, per se, and competing with other doctors for your business.

Everyone is so focused on trying to pit the insurance companies against the government – for heaven's sake, these groups are in bed with one another! There is no other, more genteel way to put it. They team up to suck the lifeblood out of the poor hapless customers/citizens (us).

That was it – all I had – just a lot of rambling, but I will end with a happy health care story: The doctor who brought me into the world just did a minor procedure on my grandmother about a year ago. She will be 90 in May, I think he is nearly as old, and both are still going strong!