| America's understanding of healthcare reform | | | | number of skeptics in America confidence that |
| needs to move beyond news headlines and | | | | their political leaders and bureaucrats actually |
| 30-second sound-bites toward a deeper | | | | know what their talking about on the healthcare |
| understanding, and Wednesday night's ABC-TV | | | | issue. |
| presentation by the president - Prescription for | | | | Furthermore, I was amazed that the president |
| America - did little to further that cause. The | | | | could talk for an hour about healthcare reform |
| president seemed to be over his head talking | | | | without even mentioning tort reform, which many |
| about the issue, which probably explains why the | | | | believe is needed to contain healthcare costs going |
| audience appeared distant, bored and even | | | | forward (and many other costs in our economy). |
| catatonic. | | | | If he is serious about reforming healthcare, he |
| Most of the audience questions and anecdotes | | | | needs to put aside the long-standing allegiance of |
| were off-point and not relevant to the big picture | | | | the democrats to the civil trial lawyers of |
| and the president's comments seemed at times | | | | America who represent a major party |
| to be incoherent and confusing. ABC's news | | | | constituency. |
| anchors Charles Gibson and Diane Sawyer did | | | | Tort reform refers to making changes to our civil |
| their best to focus and clarify the discussion, but | | | | justice system that would limit the amount of, |
| even they were unsuccessful keeping the session | | | | and monetary damages arising from, litigation. |
| on track. It was 60 minutes of regurgitated | | | | Should victims of medical malpractice be |
| Obama-ganda and not his best effort. | | | | compensated for their misfortune? Absolutely, but |
| President Obama asserted that one-third of | | | | does the average settlement need to exceed a |
| current healthcare costs are unnecessary, but | | | | million dollars, and should that practice be allowed |
| didn't elaborate. He should have offered some | | | | to paralyze and potentially bankrupt our healthcare |
| details, such as where those unnecessary costs | | | | system? Anyone seriously attempting to tame |
| reside in the system. Is it with the doctors, the | | | | our healthcare cost burden must at least put tort |
| hospitals or the drug companies? Is it the routine | | | | reform on the table for discussion. Serious |
| doctor visits or the (hopefully) once-in-a-lifetime | | | | omissions such as that undermine the |
| hospital stays that are causing the unnecessary | | | | administration's credibility and confirm our worst |
| costs? The president also said "we know what | | | | suspicions about how politics can distort our |
| works and what doesn't work" in providing | | | | nation's most important institutions. |
| healthcare, but offered no examples of either. | | | | Some democrats contend that America 's |
| One of the factoids posted on a slide before a | | | | economic survival depends upon successful |
| commercial break indicated that 50% of | | | | healthcare reform and just as many republicans |
| America's healthcare costs can be attributed to | | | | contend that democrat proposals for reform will |
| heart disease, diabetes and obesity. Important, big | | | | push us further into an economic abyss. Most |
| picture findings such as that deserve some | | | | disturbing, however, is that lawmakers from both |
| commentary and clarification, wouldn't you agree? | | | | sides of the aisle seem to be approaching the |
| Specific answers and examples might have helped | | | | problem piecemeal and from the perspective of |
| set the stage for serious discussion and debate, | | | | what will sell politically, rather than what will |
| which was the stated purpose of his presentation. | | | | successfully reform our healthcare system. |
| As important, they might have given the growing | | | | |