If your car isn’t running well, you take it to an auto mechanic, not a lawyer.

If you have an engineering problem, you take it to an engineer, not a lawyer.

If you have a problem with grammar, you take it to an English teacher, not a lawyer.

If we have problems with a Health Care system, why aren’t we taking it to Health Care professionals instead of lawyers a.k.a. Congress?

The first issue in solving a problem is stating the problem and I personally have yet to see a succinct list of exactly what problems need to be solved. I’ve heard things like portability of insurance, cancellation of coverage upon diagnosis of a disease and/or the “uninsured” among others, but there is no clear, concise (one issue per sentence) written list of exactly what needs to be “fixed.”

Second, once a list is available, a committee made up of insurance underwriters/execs, health care professionals from administrators, doctors, nurses down to housekeeping/orderlies, a cross section of patients in various age groups, geographical locations and with various health care issues, financial experts and economists should meet and discuss possible solutions for the list of problems. This committee should have no vested interest in any outcome nor should they be paid anything except their usual wages while serving on this committee. They should evaluate both Medicaid and Medicare, and they should have access to whatever information they might need to determine logical, comprehensive solutions to the problems.

Finally, while this is happening, Congress should be forced to completely re-evaluate both Medicare and Medicaid to tighten these programs up against fraud and abuse and plug the holes in each program. If it turns out that the solution to covering the “working poor” is as simple as rewriting the thresholds for Medicaid, then do it. The committee would provide possible solutions to Congress who then can vote on which solutions would best meet the needs of their tax-paying constituents.

Catherine Paxton

Arlington, WA