Reflection 4 The three musketeers vs. the three stooges

Quote: “one for all and all for one!” (the 3 Musketeers)
Quote: “and every man for himself!” (Curley, of the 3 Stooges, after Moe quoted the above)

During my treatment, I was inundated with CNN chatter between Democrats and Republicans about the health care dilemma and ObamaCare. Both sides beating their chests and pointing fingers, believing they were right. I heard medical staff in the hospitals talking about how doctors would flee in droves rather than be a part of the “socialized medicine” that would come if the Democrats passed their reforms. I was, of course, fortunate that I was sick before that happened, because I was personally glad to have the A-team working on me instead of some lettered group further down the alphabet. However, as soon as the bills started flowing to me and I looked at some of the itemized charges (including hundreds of dollars for a single injection and exorbitant fees for therapy sessions), I realized clearly that something is entirely wrong with this.
Bogged down government bureaucracy won’t be the cure. But neither will the unsupervised free market mess that permitted the Enron elite years ago to screw their own unsuspecting supporters to the wall, or the Wall Street debacle that let debt run rampant.

There must be a system that cares for the poor and trims the excess fat off of medical fees and insurance companies’ huge profits. How that system will work will depend on who is elected to office and how well that person can work with individuals of all political persuasions.

Whether that can be accomplished at all is a great mystery. Not very comforting if you are ill.