Friends

A few of us went out for a birthday last night. It had been a while since we had all gotten together. I am sure most people can relate to this feeling. You just have certain people in your life that are a part of you in some way. It can be years since you hung out with them last but the connection is just there. Well last night was another one of those nights we all got together and it felt like we didn't miss a beat. There was about ten or twelve of us but it felt like a well oiled machine that just worked well. We went bowling and then out dancing and the night was loads of fun. For me at least there were some interesting moments... a few instances of reflection. I find myself still just smiling in a way as I think about the night. I am smiling to a certain degree because I often wonder how we all got here and where we are all going to go from here. it seems life has found a way to bring us all together and considering how much fun we have its for good reason. I have been thinking really seriously recently about leaving California and perhaps starting up somewhere else. It's nights like last night that give me pause, as I wonder if I could ever build friendships and connections like the ones I have here. Its definitely not all rosy and pretty. Even within us friends there are so many "thorny" issues some of which we sweep under the rug and others that we often talk about. Still though issues or no issues its that feeling that you are understood, that you belong, that you can and want to listen to others, and that there are people that care to listen to you... Friends are sometimes the most unappreciated assets of our lives. I for one am glad for the friends I have and for the many wonderful memories I have had with them.

Nobel Peace Prize

President Barack Hussein Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize today. Am I surprised and shocked? Definitely. Do I think he is deserving of the prize well that is where the real question arises. In my own opinion he does. In my lifetime I can't remember another person that has been able to affect the spirit of so many people as President Obama has. He is not Mahatma Gandhi who by the way never won the prize and definitely deserved it. I would ask you though for a second to think of another person who has so instantly changed the perception of America worldwide. I would ask you to think of another person that has captured the imagination of the world as the President has. I agree with a lot of the critics that he has not been able to deliver on that promise but we haven't really given him much time. I don't remember us judging any other president with a microscope to such a degree as we have President Obama. Every move he makes is scrutinized and challenged, but yet how many times have we heard him loose his cool, say the wrong thing, give a shoulder massage to a foreign dignitary (thanks President Bush), or seemingly loose sight of his goal. To get someone to have hope in change, to actually have them believe in it is to me a great feat and President Obama has gotten a nation to believe and some may argue even a large segment of the population of the world...

Whats wrong with the left.

I should be studying... really I should but this was bugging me and yet again I have neglected to post in a while. Why is it that fringe movements like the Washington Tea Party can get so many things done, that Rush Limbaugh, O' Reilly, Fox News, Conservative radio etc... can garner so much support. Recent Census Bureau data revealed that the shape of the economy post Bush is the worst of any president in modern history. The list of atrocities that have taken place in an era of Republican control while a Republican president and a Republican congress is long and somewhat frightening. There are prison abuse stories, a history of torture, secret prisons, lack of due process, etc... Amazingly until the final days Republicans stuck by President Bush, probably not a wise thing but they did.

On the other hand, So many people are already questioning Obama and the current Democratic party congress on why things haven't turned around including many democrats. Just a thought the United States is like a huge Oil Tanker in an ocean that we are expecting to maneuver like a small speed boat. On top of that the previous regime has ensured that we aren't in open waters either. The multiple missteps have ensured that we are actually in a sea of sorts with very few exit points and only careful maneuvering will ensure that we will actually make our way out safely. I am not saying that we should give the administration and Congress a free pass that's what the nation seemed to do with the last president and look where we ended up, but in light of the circumstances under which President Obama took over we may want to be a little patient...

Our voices of support have to be loud and perhaps even slightly uncivil. Yes I know we are the party of the educated, the party that doesn't play dirty, the party that likes to do things the right way... At some point if the war is in the trenches we may have to adjust our methods. If a Congress man is willing to call the President a liar during a speech in the House we know the other party is not willing to abide by the rules.Ok , I concede we may not want to stoop to their level but we should at the least be prepared to write, post, message, spread the word about our dismay at the discourse taking place around us about the current administration. When things like Death Squads, comparisons of Obama to Hitler, other misconceptions about the health care plans are being put forward daily.

Health Care Reform

*** Let me preface this by saying these are just my opinions, rants, etc... proceed with caution***

Let's just start with a question what do we think is a more primitive need, basic health care or education? I am not sure we all agree but I think its health care. The constant chatter out of Washington (Mostly Republicans) is that a government option would mean that we wouldn't have a private system. Just in case someone missed it our K-12 education system is a public one and last I checked there were plenty of private schools around. Is the public school system a great one, I would be the first to point out that it isn't, but ponder the alternative for a second is a bad education or a sub par one better then not knowing how to read at all... A public health care system may not deliver excellent care to all its patrons... last I checked our current private system with the highest paid doctors on the planet... doesn't either. The goal of a health care system at least a public one should not be to provide heart transplants, brain surgeries, or other complicate procedures to the masses. Instead the goal should be to provide basic services to everyone in an efficient manner. (No the regional county hospital is not an efficient manner) I am well aware that the goal should be to save everyone and the goal of the public school system is to graduate everyone. Unfortunately the first priority has to be to provide baseline services and then work on improving the system from that point on... I am not a guru by any means and I definitely don't know all the nuances but I think the solution to this problem has to be multi-faceted... Here are some of my suggestions

1. Increase the number of AMA certified Medical schools ( the number of Caribbean Schools has gone from 3 to something like 30 in the last few years if nothing else those would be dollars spent on our soil ... stimulus anyone) Theoretically an increase in Supply of doctors should decrease salaries
   
2. Provide federal loans that could be considered grants if the Physician or health care professional chooses to stay in the primary care fields. Incentivizing Primary Health care would go a long way in keeping better people in the primary fields rather then losing them to Specializations.
   
3. Create a government option that is designed to compete with the for profit Insurance companies... such and entity would be required to provide baseline profit returns to its own fund and its reports made public so it could be self sustaining.
   
4. Create a separate federal board with state offices to hear about claims that are denied by Insurance carriers. The board would be made up of Industry experts and the decisions of the board would be binding.
   
5. Create a national Information system. A system of Medical Records for all citizens housed and run by the government. Access to the system would be fee based as to help defray the cost.
6. Provide Grants and low interest loans to allow for practices to update software to interface with nationwide system. Prioritize grants and loans based on practices that provide a higher percentage of care to low income families as these practices tend to be less profitable. Grants should also be prioritized based on specialty with primary care practices taking precedence over others.
   
7. Create legislation that requires all health Insurance carriers to provide Insurance to the at risk population, each carrier would be required to insure a certain percentage of people that would otherwise be considered uninsurable. The percentage would be fixed providing a measure to spread risk across the whole system and not burden any particular carrier.
   
8. New legislation to bring the Health Insurance system under national purview considering it is fragmented and currently run state by state.
9. A review of the current Reasonable and Necessary and Usual and Customary standards employed by the industry. Health care professionals should be responsible for determining what care they believe is best for their own patients. Doctors would be subject to blind audits at random by a board of their own peers and those that abused the privileges would be reimbursed at a lower percentage. Boards would be set up nationwide and could loose their accreditation as they would also be cross audited by each other.
   

Those are just some suggestions I have. Just curious to see what if anything happens with the current legislation...

I write with my heart

I write what is real

I write for my part

I write what I feel

I write to explain

I write to understand

I write to retain

I write to comprehend

I write to provoke

I write to defend

I write as a foe

I write as a friend

I write for pleasure

I write for fun

I write to treasure

I write to run

I write with desire

I write to release

I hope to inspire

I hope for peace