The Literal Insanity of Healthcare Reform

This summer has been a strange one, at least here in Chicago.  Actually, I don’t know if I can call it summer, as the temperature has languished in the 60’s for the past 3 months, as opposed to the blistering 80’s and 90’s.  But as the summer comes to a close, two things have been heating up.  We had our first blistering weekend here in the Windy City, and it looks as if the health care debate is feeling the heat as well.

I’m surprised at the vitriol that has been generated over this attempt at change.   I would expect the threats of violence, the comparisons to Hitler or Mussolini, and the electrically charged atmosphere over a reform to gun control, or abortion, but Health Care?  I don’t really see what everyone is getting so upset about.  In fact, I feel like the only people getting upset, are the ones who are totally uninformed about the situation.  Well, perhaps I should include the people who are rallied by lobbyist organizations, GOP operatives and insurance companies to the group.

One of my favorite stories, that literally boggled my mind, was that of Kenneth Gladney, a man who has become one of the faces for the fight against reform.  Kenneth showed up at a rally to protest against health care reform when he was supposedly beaten by SEIU members and thrown to the ground.  He was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, and emerged as a martyr for the cause.  Unfortunately, Kenny has a bigger problem than the supposed injuries he sustained; Kenny was recently laid off from his job, and has no health insurance to pay his hospital bill.  In fact, a collection was taken up to help Kenny pay off the fees he incurred.  Wait, did I say the face of the fight AGAINST reform?  I’m as confused as the rest of you.

I don’t know how many people that show up at these town halls are actually plants (I’m going to guess a decent amount, though) but I believe that there are a great number of American’s who are utterly confused by the health care system, let alone the need for reform.

A close friend of mine, Amir Satvat, has started a wonderful blog over at http://www.satvathealthcare.com, and one particular piece that I believe everyone should read is his 5 Key Issues In The Healthcare Debate.  Amir lays out the benefits of moving towards a single payer system, while also illuminating many of the common pitfalls of healthcare, and how reform would lead us to not only providing better care to all American’s, but also preventing the eventual bankrupting of our country.

We need more and more high profile people to step forth and educate the public in the same way that Amir has.  I believe the lack of a comprehensive discussion on illuminating the facts about what this plan contains, and why we need reform, is exactly what is torpedoing Obama’s goal.  If the public were educated on the facts about the path that we are heading down when it comes to health care, there would be a tremendous ground swell in support towards reform.

Why wouldn’t there be?  Who wouldn’t want better care, lower costs, fewer hassles, fewer exclusions, and a reduction in costs for the government?  The only people I can think of are those who have something to lose from the change.