Health care is probably the most depressing political issue, mostly because it's considered a political issue at all. The discussion should be simple, but it's not.
I think the conversation should be framed as "everyone has a right to medical care- how do we make this happen?" Unfortunately, this is not the basic framework adopted by many politicians, particularly Republicans.
The general Republican mindset places free market ideals over reality, attempting to put a Bandaid on something that's broken. When concern over how much of a role government should play trumps your concern over people being denied medical care and insurance, you have lost sight of the goal. Legislation should be about problem solving, and I don't think anyone can deny that having millions more uninsured Americans every year is not a problem.
More below...
Crossposted at Sandstorm
As usual, the federal government has fallen behind in its duty to protect America's citizens from harm, whether foreign, or in this case, domestic, so individual states, those laboratories of democracy, have stepped up.
Oregon is ahead of the game, having appointed a task force to examine possible ways of making health care equitable and affordable for all Oregonians. The task force completed its initial work in record time, and the plan has moved on to the public comment stage.
I hope that Oregon's plan moves forward quickly, so that it can serve as a model of how health care can be provided in a reasonable, cost-effective manner that does not discriminate by race and class as our current system does.
I encourage John McCain and his fellow Republicans to think hard about their priorities, and whether what they offer are true solutions, and not merely platitudes.