On the death of Senator Kennedy

I mourn the loss of "the greatest legislator of our time," as he was eulogized by President Obama. For those of us who remember the Sixties, Ted Kennedy's passing represents the end of more than an era. As the sole surviving Kennedy brother, this passing also brings to a close the 'Kennedy mystique' that I grew up with. For those who are too young to remember both the idealism and tragedy of that era, the JFK assassination is nearly as removed as Lincoln's. For those who were there, however, the values represented by the better nature's of all the Kennedy brothers represented the very best this country could hope to be.

Senator Kennedy was well loved by Republican colleagues as well as Democratic. He worked hard at true bipartisan cooperation and negotiation despite his generally liberal perspective. It is my hope and prayer that the memory of his political life and service may inspire a renewed effort toward finding common ground among our political leaders.

One of Senator Kennedy's lifelong goals and priorities was health-care reform. Debate over this tremendously important issue is appropriate and necessary. Honest divergence of opinion will always exist. It is impossible for me to honor the memory of this great American, however, without expressing disdain for the way in which our current health care debate is being conducted. It is unquestionable that factual discourse is not valued by, or even relevant to, many of those opposing health-care reform. Many are purposefully spreading lies to incite wholly irrational fear for their own gain. These tactics disgust me. I am certainly no expert but, from personal observation and common sense analysis, here are a few thoughts:

• Anyone who believes that government has a lock on wasteful, inefficient bureaucracy has not spent enough time in Corporate America. The only difference between public bureaucracy and private bureaucracy is that private corporations are, by definition, motivated by profit. Profit is not inherently bad, but neither is government. For-profit entities do, however, prioritize the bottom line above all else. It is their reason for existence and their responsibility to their stockholders.
  
• Anyone who believes our current health care insurance industry represents free-market capitalism must be blessed with a quickly disappearing model of employer-provided health care. As a self-employed consultant, I pay ridiculous premiums for nothing more than catastrophic care. I am prevented from competitive shopping for alternatives due to pre-existing condition rules. Others I know of suffering a catastrophic health crisis have been canceled by their insurance companies. This is not insurance - it's a prepayment plan where the insurance companies have free reign to do whatever they like to maintain their profit margins. If you don't believe there is a health-care crisis then I don't believe you're seeing the situation for what it is.
  
• Medicare, a federal government program, is generally held in very high regard by many health-care professionals I know as a well run program - more efficient and effective than the vast majority of health-insurance providers they must deal with.
  
• The Lewin Group is a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group - one of the largest health insurance companies. This source for many of the statistics used to blast the idea of any government health care intervention claims to be fully independent and states on their web site that they have complete editorial autonomy from their parent organization. Even if I accept this as true there is still no doubt in my mind that the employees of this company also know who provides their salaries. Every employee of this company has a clear conflict of interest and is undoubtedly motivated to make the source of their livelihood look good. I know I would be. It doesn't mean they're lying but it is certainly only simple common sense to know that they are at least selective with the statistics they choose to publicize.
  

Every citizen of this great nation has the duty be as well informed on the issues as they can possibly be -- has a duty to look past the sound bite and try to distill fact from fiction. I am not favoring any particular solution to the health-care crisis here. I am simply asking everyone to get past the stereotypes, past the fear-mongering, past the lies and try to be as objective on the issue as possible. Senator Kennedy was hated by many for his belief that government must take an active role in social justice issues. Even if you disagree with his philosophy, I ask you to honor the memory of this veteran's half-century of service to our nation by honestly taking a step back and considering his lifelong advocacy of health-care reform. Challenge yourself to look closely for the lies you may be believing, for the fear you may needlessly be feeling.