If It's Broke, Fix It

We may have reached a subtle turning point in the debate about the health care system in America.

As this article in today's NY Times shows, the debate is no longer about whether there is a problem, or even whether employers should be the main provider of health insurance in America.

There seems to be a growing recognition that employer-based insurance alone isn't working - for example, according to the article the vast majority of the approximately 40 plus million people in this country without health insurance are working.

So the question now is what to replace our current system with - i.e., what mix of private and public programs and initiatives will increase coverage, keep up quality and manage costs?

In the private sector, people from different ends of the idealogical spectrum such the service workers union and big companies like GM and Wal-mart are joining forces to push for change.

When will the politicians at the Federal level get off their butts and take the lead? This is one problem that demands a holistic, national solution. And everyone needs to assume their fair share of the burden - no more of the cost shifting mentality that permeates the current system.