The Health Care Debate?

I have to admit that I was very excited during the election when candidates were discussing health care reform. I felt that there were a couple of candidates who would actually give it a try. Then the debate started... I don't know if you can call this a debate. It's more like confusion and bad information. Neither of these are a good thing. There are people talking about death panels and taxes. I don't know how the discussion got to this point. I guess when you mix fear, change, and misinformation anything can happen. Like a guy bringing a gun to sit in a room with the President of the United States! Is it me or is this really getting crazy?

Ok, the plan at its base sounds really good. Insure people who otherwise can't afford health care coverage. Decrease health care cost and add competition. Stop insurance company's from dropping people who actually get sick. Stop insurance company's from denying people coverage because they have preexisting conditions. I don't really see a down side to that. I didn't have insurance until I was in my mid 20's and got a decent job. I don't know if we had CHIPS back then, but I know we would have qualified. Of course, my mom would have been too proud to take the hand out. I defer. As a person with crappy insurance that has high co pays, and that is quick to tell me they will not pay for a test because they deem it unnecessary... this looks good to me.

I think this debate is more about fear than anything else. I don't have great trust in the system, it hardly ever works for people like me. We have to succeed in spite of. I am concerned about the cost of a plan like the one that has been proposed. How do we pay for it? But I am also concerned about the fact that we, Americans spend more of our income on health care than any other industrialized country. I am also concerned that we don't seem to get much for those dollars... we are sicker than ever. I am concerned that over a million people file bankruptcy every year just because of health care expenses. Where do we go from here? How can we not do something? My ears are open for any suggestions. What they are not open for is fear mongering and doing nothing. We voted for change in November and I expect for it to come.

Standing Still

I'm sitting her on a Sunday night, thinking, thinking, thinking. I'm thinking about a lot. My mind feels jumbled. I'm thinking where does time go? I swear that I was 25, two years ago. Where did the other 6 years go? They went by too fast. I'm thinking that my focus should be to make sure the rest of my years are enjoyed as much as possible. So that I'm not asking this same question 6 years from now. My first instinct is to make a plan, but I'm thinking that this time I should just let it flow. I haven't done that in last few years and I miss the unpredictability of that. Plus, it takes too much energy that can be focused on more important things. And no matter how damn good you are... no one has that kind of control.

I've found myself contemplating a career change and moving to another area to get out of the rut. I thought a change of scenery would do some good. And since I like my little corner of the world I decided to just take a trip. The time away will do me some good. I guess I'll just call it confusion. It may be that disappointment is finally taking its toll. But, I'm going to do what I do best, be optimistic and keep on moving.