Health-care or Health-care insurance reform

As I have listened to and read the debates all summer and fall about the proposed reform bills on Capital Hill I have been struck by one item. Hardly anyone seems to know what they are trying to reform from Obama down to the columnists and talk show hosts (right or left).

You hear the terms health care and health-care insurance used interchangeably by almost all of them as if they were the same issue.

Health-care is the treatment, prevention and diagnosis by professionals out there. The USA has probably the best system in the world as far as the health-care that is available. It is not the same level everywhere. The question is not that I hear of improving the health-care but improving the availability. If you are not sure if the best health care in the world is here in the USA then look and see where the rich and powerful around the world go when they get bad sick, it is most often to the USA. There are some good places in other countries but we stay on the cutting edge of health-care developments in the USA.

Health-care insurance is not the health-care but how is it paid. For a large majority of Americans this is by insurance. There is a number that are not covered by insurance for a variety of reasons and those of them who do not have the resources to pay seems to really be the issue. The proposed solutions are to change how it is paid.

So the real issue appears to be health-care insurance reform and not health-care reform, and often you see the debaters say to reform health care so everyone is covered, and then follow with that we don't want to lose our world class health-care level, just make sure all can use it easily.

Major concerns are getting people diagnosed and cured quicker and take the weight off the emergency rooms and that we all can get world class health-care at the same time. And allowing the quality health-care to be in all communities once money for the people there is available.

Let's make the debate easier by using correct terms and ten maybe we can reach consensus on the best way to do this and not throw the baby out with the bathwater.