Goons in the Room

Whether the health care reform debate is framed by the Republicans who appear to be sending hysterical, angry people to disrupt town hall meetings being held by representatives and senators around the country, watch The Daily Show for a dose of what is happening there, or framed by the President at his civilized meeting in New Hampshire, know that the debate needs to be conducted by adults, because the issue we are facing is complex and has the potential to further erode our nation's ability to climb out of a recession.

When I cared for my ill mother, who had Medicare and supplemental insurance, my biggest complaint then was that Medicare didn't send us notification of medical bills submitted by doctors until after they were paid. Consequently, we could have prevented clear fraud. For example, my mother had stage four cancer when she was diagnosed once two vertebrae in her back broke from a tumor. She immediately made the decision that she would only submit to palliative care: radiation at the site of the tumor. She refused to see the oncologist who came to her room, not once, but twice. However, for the weeks that she was hospitalized, that oncologist was charging Medicare for services he never rendered. We didn't know for months, not until after the fraudulent bill had been paid. So one way to streamline Medicare is to allow patients to review the billing before it is paid. Patients could, as we did, find the fraud and reduce the costs.

"I'm afraid of Obama," was the call at some of the disrupted town hall meetings. I'm afraid of the steroid-injected hysteria pumped up by Fox Cable, Sarah Palin, and Rush Limbaugh. While we self-destruct, India and China are moving ahead, folks. That's where the future is, whether you like it or not.