Health Care Forum WTTW

I had the fortune of being one of 24 guests invited to take part in a health care forum at WTTW in Chicago on September 1, 2009. The forum was one of the few that I've seen that has been civil, even though there were dissenting sides of the issue present. The forum's expert panel included Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), the Senate Majority Whip; Dr. Jeremy Lazarus of the AMA; Dr. Paul Handel of BC/BS's parent company; and Kevin Scanlan of Metro Chicago Healthcare Council.

The questions/comments were relavent to the topic, though a couple of issues were either skirted over or weren't discussed in the 53 minute program. The host was Phil Ponce, longtime Chicago television newsman.

The most heated portion of the debate took place between Sen. Durbin and Dr. Handel. The Public Option, while favored by many, is being hotly contested and dissuaded by the Health Insurance companies. I had the most difficulty swallowing the "reason" why the CEO of Health Care Service Corp, the parent company of BC/BS of Illinois makes over 12 Million Dollars per year.

The consensus seems to be that those who have employer-based health care insurance are happy with it and those who are uninsured or underinsured (or like some of us are paying exorbitant amounts for less than optimal insurance with high deductibles) look at the public option as a way of being able to afford health insurance without going bankrupt or struggling to make ends meet.

There has been, and unfortunately always will be, some form of rationing of health care. It happens here in the USA and in countries with socialized or nationalized health programs. The underlying issue is that no matter what comes down through the House and the Senate, it will end up costing more than we can afford. We can't afford to do nothing, either, though.