Snakemama said it best, "don't let perfect get in the way of good".

Something has to be done to fix this healthcare mess. Perhaps by making the entire nation involved in it- willingly or not- we, as the populus, can bring the health insurance companies back into conformity. Healthcare belongs in the hands of the doctors/nurses/healthcare providers. Not the people with NO medical training, who get to decide that open heart surgery = 2.43 days, and 10 minutes is enough for a pediatric newborn visit. Health insurance (actually, ALL insurance) companies continue to return high profits, doing less with less. Right now, the population most greatly affected by no insurance (our lower income'd and seniors) have NO voice. They don't have insurance, they can't complain, switch insurance companies, make a difference, etc.

I pay $257 a month for family coverage, preventatives are 'free', and I have a $5000.00 deductible. Thank God I am healthy, and pray that J remains so, too. There has to be something 'better' than that. One trip to the ER would set me back tremendously. This isn't really a good plan. To get something more in line with reasonable, I would pay over $750 a month. I can't swing that. While I recognize the need for health insurance, I can't afford health insurance. What I have is a catastrophic type of coverage. $5000 deductible.

We all have to do things we don't like: pay taxes on schools we don't use, property tax when services aren't that great. Heck, I pay a 'stadium tax' to subsidize the sports arena here, and I have never seen a game! Car insurance, I pay it. Go to another state and I pay their sales tax. The list goes on. I have to wear a seat belt, my child needs to be properly restrained, too. My dog has to have a county tag, and sometimes I have to pay tolls on roads that I know have been paid off for eons! Not sure why THIS is such a sore spot with people.

Basic health care, to me, is a necessity. Not a luxury. Anyone going without has an effect on the entire system. While this might not be perfect, it is a good start.