Under the Paperweight, June 21-27, 2009 1

My one policy proposal for health care reform: Citizens should require members of Congress to participate in any health care plan that is ultimately approved.

Piling up under the Paperweight are more commentaries on how to change or not change the U.S. health care system than I would attempt summarizing. I regularly check the site Real Clear Politics for interesting commentaries; each day its main page features about 30 links to major media news stories, editorials, and transcripts. In just the last week, it featured at least five major news articles and editorials on U.S. health care system reform each day.

Whether you are diagnosed with fear of overreaching national policy disorder, or with a physical disorder too expensive to treat which your insurance will try to avoid paying for, the arguments back and forth on a number of points could induce dizziness, anxiety, or anger. One problem is who to listen to: insurance companies, doctors and health care professionals, pharmaceutical companies, large employers, Republicans, Democrats, individuals, the uninsured?

My Glendale, California family pays for its own health insurance, and the premiums rise, steeply, each year. I resent that a rapidly increasing percentage of my family income is sent monthly to a company that counts our fear of catastrophic illness in its profits. I further resent that proposals to address this and many other imbalances in the health care financing system probably won’t apply to those who will enact them – that is, members of Congress.

So, I’ll repeat: Citizens should require members of Congress to participate in any health care plan that is ultimately approved.

For those who want to read other perspectives, here are the Real Clear Politics links from last week:

Fixing health care
One Nation Under Medicare
Head-banging time on healthcare
5 keys to getting health care deal
Prognosis: Debt
WHY DOCS FEAR GOVERNMENT ‘HELP’
Health Care Showdown
Carroll: U.S. health care is not inferior
CALLING THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY’S BLUFF
The President Tries to Change His Health-Care Tune
On Iran and Health Care, Obama Careful to Keep His Options Open
ObamaCare: Kiss Your Access Goodbye
Act Fast on Health Care, Obama
Spouses in Health Care Affect Members’ Views
Obama Turns to Grass Roots to Push Health Reform
THE ASTROTURF DRIVE FOR OBAMACARE
George F. Will Admits Public Option Will Cut Costs
Obama’s Thinking ‘Evolves’ on Health Care Requirements
How health care ‘reforms’ will mess with your coverage
Deja Vu on Health Care? Maybe Not
U.S. Doesn’t Need the Ultra-Liberal Public Option
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124580516633344953.html
Not In My Health Plan
The Sickening Addiction That May Ruin Reform
ObamaCare Isn’t Inevitable
Don’t overdose on health care reform
The Prescription From Obama’s Own Doctor
Government Health Plans Always Ration Care
Obamacare not as easy as ABC
How ObamaCare Threatens Your Health Plan
Not Enough Audacity
Health Care Faces the ‘R’ Word
Busting the Adminstrative Cost Benefit Myth
Short of the Magic