Slow down on health care

The health care bill is now in the senate for final debate.

Like most people, we haven't had time to read the 2,000-page document. We seriously doubt if most of the members of Congress have, either.

But from the tidbits that appear to be under discussion, this is not the bill the American people appear to want.

The health-care industry has spent more than half a billion dollars lobbying during the creation of this bill, which means our worst fears appear to be materializing. This bill has functionally been written by the very people it is attempting to regulate, and they, not the average citizen, appear to be the ones who will benefit.

There is no question we need health-care reform in this country. We need health care that is available to all, whether or not their employer provides it, and it must be affordable.

But this bill does very little to control costs and it is the skyrocketing and ridiculous charges for health care that is killing us.

We seriously doubt that those of us who have health care will see a reduction in our premiums or an expansion in our coverage at the same costs. Instead, it appears the taxpayers will wind up paying for the costs associated with this bill.

The bill completely fails to address the issue of tort reform, considered by many to be a major reason that health care costs have gone through the ceiling. Doctors and hospitals pay outrageous insurance premiums to cover malpractice, because juries have tended to give victims of malpractice lottery-like awards. Some reasonable limits are needed here.

With most forms of insurance, such as fire insurance on your house, you hope and don't expect that it will be needed. But health care insurance covers people for things they do expect to have happen. Everyone gets sick at one time or another. Everyone expects to make use of their health insurance. Yet insurance companies often won't pay for procedures that can prevent a health issue from becoming catastrophic. And if taxpayers are going to foot the bill, expect to see a wave of regulations requiring that you adopt healthy lifestyles (like we need more government regulation of our daily lives).

Frankly, there is too much of a rush to get this legislation passed. We're glad President Obama has forced the issue, first raised by Teddy Roosevelt, but we believe Congress should take it's time to craft a piece of legislation that will actually do what the president and the American people want, rather than one that appears to simply subsidize a health-care industry that is out of control.

The issue should not be dropped, but it should clearly be rethought and reanalyzed with the average citizen, not the health-care industry, in mind.

-- Kelly Everitt