As President Obama takes office, reform of our health services industry hangs in the balance. If he chooses to push technology, preventive care and capturing millions of the uninsured into the net of having "some" insurance rather than meaningful insurance (here defined as insurance that sufficiently covers all the costs of needed medical care when people are SICK), he risks losing momentum for any real reform that will likely never be recovered.
The BAILOUT affected businesses and was acted upon SWIFTLY, it was a CRISIS, demanding immediate action and though there are huge issues with the results (money might have actually been wasted, big surprise), action was taken.
So why not health services? Is the problem really too big to do ANYTHING right away? The answer is obviously NO.
However, piecemeal, non politically charged steps like bringing technology into the industry are a ridiculous red herring that promise to distract our country's lawmakers , providers, and consumers away from the fact that these actions will NOT address the CRISIS.
Savings over a number of years are marvelous, but if that's the real goal why not decide that it's time for the enormous mass of federal, state and local civil servants immediately be thrown into the reality of benefits choices available to average citizens so that they have "skin in the game?" Such a bold step would save our country billions of dollars as governmental websites proudly boast that their membership groups are the largest in the nation even as every other citizen is encouraged and tricked into thinking he/she can save money by going it alone. Such a bold step would end the two tiered system of health services that has always increased the appeal of a civil service job even as the traditional "low pay" of such jobs has also been countered through recent increases unavailable to most Americans who have not seen raises in years. Such a bold step would also not take away from the traditional job security of these jobs which along with the health sector are the only two sectors that profited from the last eight years in terms of expanding and increasing employment.
While changing the system will take years, stopping the unbalanced distribution of benefits packages availability, specifically the far superior packages available to civil servants requires nothing more than STOPPING and of course, facing the music of complaining civil servants. However, an awareness of our health services CRISIS requires SHARED EXPERIENCE and the continued protection of civilian governmental workers in this day and age is appalling and is also the easiest way for Obama to DO SOMETHING besides start the next years long series of governmental studies, assessments, question and answer periods while governmental employees continue to enjoy benefits security while the rest of us fall through the cracks.
Keep it simple today and EXPECT THE PROMISED CHANGE OF A SHARING AND CARING PRESIDENT: Good intentions must be evident through meaningful action, if you can't solve the problems today you can certainly put your money where your mouth is and suspend the continued superior benefits packages offered to civil servants while much of the US lives in the real world. Piecemeal change that promises possible results at some unnamed time in the future is not CRISIS management, it is avoidance.
