On the Fence

After many months of intense debate, all the arguments have been exhausted, pro and con. I can understand how some thoughtful legislators enthusiastically support the bill, while others sincerely oppose it; but I have difficulty attributing pure motives to elected representatives who still, on the eve of the final vote, have not made up their minds.

I suspect that the deciding votes may be based not on reasoned conviction but on intellectual sloth and/or political expediency.

A Matter of Perspective

Some say each of us was put here for a purpose; I say we arrived serendipitously and determine our own purposes.

Risky Business

Heath insurance premiums are reflective of, not responsible for, most medical costs; we should not expect to control premium inflation while mandating expanded benefits (and carrier risks).

Presto chango!

I believe that people can change; I also believe that they rarely do.

Advocacy or Appeasement?

A key battle was lost when President Obama backpedaled from urging health care reform to pleading for health insurance reform.

AMA Part of the Problem

The American Medical Association complains that physicians and patients are drowning in paperwork that increases overhead and drives up costs. True enough. Administrative requirements should be streamlined. But unnecessary paperwork doesn't drive overall health care costs nearly as much as physicians performing unnecessary procedures, ordering unnecessary tests, prescribing unnecessary drugs.