Lodal letter: Health care
After much reading and listening, I think I can see what is missing in the health care debate. Empathy and compassion. It appears what Republicans value most is keeping a campaign promise in repealing Obamacare. I understand this; we all want to be credible. But dig deeper and the basis of their proposals clearly places government’s role in health care as a higher priority than the well-being of American citizens. I believe that is a fatally flawed approach.
Health care is as personal as it gets. We all want a system that’s available to us when we need it. There are numerous systems around the globe that could be studied and benchmarked for effectiveness and costs. And I think that both Democrats and Republicans must now admit that this is only going to get resolved in an atmosphere of bipartisan problem solving and collaboration.
I think if Congress can start from a position of empathy and compassion and work to assemble a system that truly serves the needs of American citizens, we might have a chance of legislating effective health care reform. But anger and partisan sound bites need to be shelved while problem solving and cooperation are embraced instead.
John Lodal, Boise
This story was originally published October 18, 2017 at 10:49 PM with the headline "Lodal letter: Health care."