President Obama, Secretary Sebilius and others are working hard right now to try to solve the nation’s health care problem. I hope they do it soon.

However, I don’t think what they are proposing (as well as I understand it) is the right solution. The main reason is the reliance on employer-provided health care.

Can we stop with that? Having one’s health tied to one’s job seems like, and has been in my experience, a really horrible idea. It keeps people in jobs they don’t like (that others might do better, which could improve the nation’s productivity) and prevents people from leaving for jobs they might do better. It causes stress and crazy debt for people. 

And think about a really bad day. You lose your job. So that sucks. And then, you find out that not only do you not have a job, but if you want to keep health insurance on the chance that you don’t get a job within 63 days, it’ll cost you up to $400 / month. And that’s just for you – if you have a family, it could $1,000 or more. A month. While you are unemployed.

I don’t know if a government-run system makes the most sense. But private competition with no requirement to cover people seems to be doing squat right now. It punishes people for taking care of themselves. For example, one must list all medical issues within the last ten years. So if one is responsible and visits the doctor while the cough is still a cough, instead of waiting for it to turn into pneumonia, it gets listed. And if one gets diagnosed with a non-life-threatening condition that could develop into something worse, one gets denied outright. Nevermind that one could have just forgone doctors appointments for a couple of years and the condition would have gone undiagnosed, thus allowing the person to get health insurance. It’s this system of perverse incentives (don’t go to a doctor and hope you’ll get better on your own) that seems to be contributing to people who, once they do get sick, are really, really sick, and end up costing us all a lot of money.

I have some ideas. One is removing the job-health insurance connection. Another is preventing companies from denying patients coverage. They have loads of data one how likely people are to get certain diseases based on their past history. So let’s say Sue has had condition X for a year (one that requires little to no medical care), and 5% of people like her with condition X develop condition Y, the treatment of which is quite costly. Can’t they instead just charge her 5% extra for her coverage? Or 5% x % increase in cost? There are obviously some not-so-well researched conditions, but I’m guessing there’s a lot of data on obesity and heart disease, or asthma and other respiratory ailments. 

The Economist had an interesting article probably five years ago about requiring all to have health insurance. I love that idea. If all were required to do it, we’d have to fix the system. Hopefully remove it from any sort of tie to employement. Use the tax breaks given to employers to provide tax breaks and subsidies to consumers.

There was also an excellent article in the NY Times Magazine on the topic of restricting health care (posted below).

This is admittedly not the most well-thought-out musing I’ve ever posted, but I couldn’t not comment on it. I’m about to leave my job, and while I’ll have coverage when in London, I won’t have coverage at home, so I’m going through all of the options. COBRA is ridiculously expensive, and the various private options are hit-and-miss. I could go without, but I’d give my mother a year of stress that she doesn’t need, and myself a hefty hospital bill should something happen to me when I’m outside the UK.

There are a few things about this proposition that I just don’t get. 

1 – Is it just about gay? If so, why? Despite what some bigoted pastors and priests say, being gay (according to the Bible) is not any more of an abomination than, say, wearing a suit made from mixed cloths. It takes a special, completely ignorant reading of the Bible, stretching the understanding of what’s written in it (and of course putting aside the interests of those who wrote it in the first place), to find support for this hatred. For a much more eloquent take on the Biblical aspect of this, I highly recommend this great film: “For the Bible Tells Me So.” Clearly, using religion to support hatred happens all the time, but regardless, it’s unconstitutional for the state to endorse religion is such a way. So it can’t (legally, at least) be just about this.

2 – Is it about tradition? If so, how is that a reasonable argument? Tradition is what kept black people from being allowed to marry white people in 16 states as recently as 40 years ago. That’s creepy. Tradition is not always right, frankly, and while there may be some skinheads up in Idaho who still think the races shouldn’t mix, for most people it’s a given that it is well within a black person’s rights to marry a white person, and vice versa. So clearly tradition can change.

And, as Jon Stewart pointed out so hilariously on his show last week, ‘traditional’ marriage has been kind of a crock of s–t. It was about securing property and control – why do you think women traditionally changed their last name when they got married? I certainly don’t want to be forced into a marriage and required to provide a dowry. I don’t think the ‘traditional’ concept of marriage was all that good – why do the Mormon and Catholics who supported this measure seem to think that loveless marriages secured based on property decisions are the ones that should remain the model?

3 – Is it about family? I’ve heard some say marriage exists solely for the purpose of family, and by family, they mean at least a kid or two. If that’s the case – why haven’t the supporters of Prop 8 also introduced propositions to prevent women who have gone through menopause from marrying? I mean, they certainly won’t be having any kids. Or what about people who are naturally infertile? Should there be a fertility test? Should all couples, when applying for a marriage license, also sign their pledge to reproduce? No? Okay then. This argument is clearly ridiculous.

The point, for me, is this – it is not okay for the majority to deny civil rights to the minority. It’s not okay to prevent blacks from marrying whites, and it’s not okay to prevent gays from marrying each other. 

I believe marriage is a very precious thing. It’s pretty amazing to think that so many people find someone with whom they want to spend their entire life. That’s beautiful, and something that should be celebrated and supported, not denigrated with hatred and bigotry.

Keith Olbermann put it quite eloquently last night; I encourage you to read his message.

I’m tired. It’s 11 on a Monday night. I’m still getting over a cold, and I should really be in bed with my book, getting in one last chapter before drifting off. But I can’t sleep until I get this off of my chest. I could probably say this more eloquently, but for now, here it is.

I’m tired of the claim that I am not a real American. I’m tired of turning on the TV to hear someone, in front of a crowd of (white) people in a (small) town that THEY are the true, real Americans.

Because guess what? I am an American, too. I am a ‘real’ American. I am also “pro-America” (so long, of course, as that doesn’t mean I have to be “anti-everyone else”). That’s right. Even if we don’t agree with you, Sarah Palin, John McCain, and Michelle Bachmann, we are still American, and we are still rooting for things in this country to turn around.

Some of us are straight. Some of us are gay. But our sexuality doesn’t make us Pro-America or Anti-America. Me being attracted to members of the opposite sex doesn’t make me more of an American, or a better American, than the fact that one of my best friend’s is attracted to members of the same sex.

Some of us are Catholic. Some are Jewish. Some are Muslim, and some are Quaker. Some are agnostic. Some are Protestant. But our religion doesn’t make us Pro-America or Anti-America, or less of an American than you. You don’t get a larger claim on the right to call yourself American just because you make a big show of sitting in a pew on Sundays. 

Some of us live in small towns. Some of us live in big cities. Some of us live in neighborhoods that feel like small towns in the middle of big cities. But our zip codes don’t make us Pro-America or Anti-America. You don’t get to call yourself more of a citizen because you live in a zip code with fewer than 6,000 residents and I live in a zip code with over 62,000. 

I own a passport. I’d love to spend more time exploring the world. Never wanting to leave America is fine if that’s your choice. But it is ridiculous to suggest that people who want to see the world, or who go and talk to other people in the world, or who care about the other 5.7 BILLION people who share the earth with us are less American than you. What we do in this country has a direct impact on the rest of the world, and it is preposterous to suggest that we should ignore them all.

I like knowing that if I call 911, police, fire and EMS will show up. I like knowing that I can get to my job without having to pay for a car, because I take the subway. I like knowing that if something happens to me and, for awhile, I can’t find another job, I might be able to ask the government for some assistance. So yeah, I do think it is patriotic to pay taxes, because even if I don’t ever need those emergency services, I accept that because you and I pay those taxes, someone else’s life might be saved. It’s not “Pro-America” to suggest that paying taxes is a bad thing, and it’s not “Anti-America” to be able to see the bigger picture on this issue.

I’m tired of hearing about how the real Americans come from the states between the coasts. How, because my path in life involved getting a master’s degree, and not going straight to work in a factory, I’m less of an American. It’s ridiculous to suggest that working hard to educated yourself and move up in life is somehow not American. And it’s bull to suggest that because I have a degree I someone look down upon people who don’t.

I’m tired of the hypocrisy of those who claim to treasure the “American Dream” and with their next breath tear down those who not only fulfilled that dream but want to make it available to others. 

I love small towns and big cities. I love mountains and the ocean and snow and sun and rain. I love that in America in February you can fly from a blizzard in NYC to the beach in Miami and still be in the same country. I love that on the train to work I can hear different languages and see people who don’t look like me all living and working and loving together. 

One reason this is a place so many people want to come to is BECAUSE there are so many different people here. Not everyone is white, works at the local diner and has three or four kids. Not everyone goes to a Baptist church. Not everyone thinks that Beverly Hills Chihuahua is the greatest movie of the year. But if they do? That doesn’t make them less of an American either.

You know what? I think it is patriotic to have the courage and the strength and the honesty to recognize that there are some areas at which America ISN’T the greatest. The fact that we even have to discuss the possibility that there could be a ‘Bradley Effect’ on the election disgusts me. There are still plenty of racists and bigots in this country, and that does not make me proud. The fact that the one thing that the candidates seem to agree on is their dislike of gay marriage – that does not make me proud. 

If, as a parent, you point out that your child could improve in an area, maybe work a little harder, does that mean you don’t love your child? OF COURSE NOT. It means you care enough about your child to try to correct him or her so that he or she can grow and be even better than he or she already is. Criticizing the government, asking for change, and pointing out the problems we have in this country doesn’t mean we love it any less than you do – it just means that we care enough to be honest so that maybe, just maybe, it will become a better place.

Protesting the government and seeking change? THAT is  American, damn it.

And so am I.