Health care reform has long been one of those heated issues that have filled the rhetoric of politician speeches and captured media attention time after time.  No wonder.  It affects all of us.

The latest episode in this decades long struggle has the Administration postured across the line with fellow Democrats against the Republicans.   The City Hall meetings that have been held have been filled with well orchestrated anit-health reform groups whose main purpose was simply to disrupt what could have been more reasoned debates.  The smell of political maneuvering and strategies around this issue, simply on partisan lines, is thick.

Still despite all this grandstanding and bickering,  the inevitable is going to happen in this country one day.  We will have universal coverage in a government sponsored health care plan.

Now the current plan does not necessarily call for that,  but if the public option is kept in the legislation, it is the first step towards it.  We are evolving to it.

Medical expenses continue to rise and a disproportionate amount of citizens are not able to afford it.  The arguments of costs and tax burden are valid when looking at it from a more narrow perspective.

However beyond even the humane and socially moral perspective,  it is incumbent upon this government to protect and optimize its greatest resource, its people.   A healthy citizenry  is a value add to a country.   We spend billions and billions of dollars on Defense and on National Parks and other non-human resources.  Yet we balk on spending money on health for Americans.

The private medical insurance system has gotten so cost prohibitive that its customer base continues to narrow.  It is like an aging dinosaur that is no longer benefiting us.

Opponents worry about a non-choice environment for medical services under such a system.  True there may not be as many options but there can be built into any system some leeway and options.

There is also a worry that government management of a universal health coverage system will result in mediocrity.  There is some validity to that fear.  Mediocrity, however, does extend to the private sector.  The Government does not stand alone on it.  Rules, regulations and processes need to be set and enforced for individuals who work in the system.

Finally, universal health benefits extends medical help to everyone who needs it.  Opponents  have been using cold war rhetoric of   “Socialism” to describe the plan.

This is not about socialism.  This is about democracy and people choosing the best medical solution for lives.

Read CNN Article on current legislation