by Lolly Lijewski

Created on: July 26, 2008

IS UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE A REAL POSSIBILITY

If creating a universal health care system is framed only as a "single payer system," it's unlikely to succeed. However, if creative thinking is employed, the possibility, can become real.

Framing universal health care as a single payer system will doom the concept. The United States Debt is in the trillions. The economy is in the tank. The U.S. government just borrowed $150 million from China to provide an economic stimulus to its citizens. Reforming the American health care system, and finding the resources to pay for the health care of over 300 million people, is overwhelming!

There are really two questions to this debate:

1. Should health care be a right for all U.S. citizens?

2. How do we pay for it?

The answer to the first question is a resounding yes! There is no defensible reason why the richest country in the world isn't capable of taking care of its own.

The answer to the second question is more complicated.

Several years ago, John Brandl, former Minnesota legislator and Dean of the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute Of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota wrote a book called, "Money And Good Intentions Are Not Enough." http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/loo kupname?key=Brandl%2C%20John%20E. Brandl believes that the lessons of the 60's with the welfare programs of the "Great Society," are that throwing money at social problems does not solve them, in fact, it makes them worse by creating dependency, and sapping the resources of our nation. (Brandl is a democrat.)

Brandl contends that the ingenuity of the American spirit is what will get us through. Our creativity and ability to problem solve are what has made this a great nation!

So, to put those energies toward thinking about possible solutions, here is one way we might reframe this issue.

1. Think about this concept as universal health care coverage with a dose of personal responsibility. If the only reason given for not creating a health care system where everyone is covered is ideological: people who espouse the right of the individual, "What's mine is mine, and I'm not sharing it," believe that personal responsibility takes precedence over altruism, then addressing this mindset is important.

2. If understanding that sometimes we all need help, and we should take some personal responsibility, is the mindset, the way is open for solutions.

One way to ensure that every American has health care coverage is to create a four payer system. The four payers

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