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Just Bite the Bullet on Health Care By the time I reached London last week, every one of my joints hurt. Two days later, they all looked like balloons. I headed to the nearest hospital in a small Scottish town and partook of Britain's National Health Service. While many Americans malign the so-called socialist systems of Britain and Canada, they do provide universal health coverage and do offer lessons as we debate health care in Colorado. In 3 emergency room visits, I received excellent care and paid nothing. When I asked to pay, they were surprised. In Britain, everyone expects to receive health care. They're willing to tax themselves to make that happen. Coloradans are less enthusiastic about that aspect. Governor Bill Ritter, the 208 Commission, numerous foundations, businesses and citizens groups are plunging into the problem of Colorado's nearly 800,000 uninsured citizens. As Coloradans debate solutions, we should be willing to look at other systems to assess what works and what doesn't. Let's start with values. In Britain, it is a commonly held value that everyone is entitled to health care. I believe Coloradans would agree that people should have access to medical care. We would probably also agree that people should share the cost of their care, not just through taxes, but, for those who can afford it, through our own contributions as well. The first step in our statewide debate is to get some clarity on our values. We know that most Americans strongly defend Medicare. But, how far we are willing to extend the kind of care we provide seniors-to children, the working poor, everyone? If we can agree on values, it may be easier to talk about how we pay for what we want. If we simply talk about how to pay, we will never get to what we believe is the right thing to do. Health care reform can't avoid the payment issue. Who pays for what? How much is the public willing to pay for universal access? Where does this value fall in the midst of all the other things we want government to do? Are we willing to take a hard look at fixing the mess that is our state constitution so we can accomplish what we value? This is where Governor Ritter's leadership will be tested the most. It's also where a civil, thoughtful, statewide discussion, analyzing all the possibilities, is most important. Hysterics are counter-productive. We need to set priorities for health care coverage because we can't do everything at once. My vote would be to start with kids since we already have a program in place to partially cover them. Few people will argue that children don't deserve medical care. But, if Coloradans are going to vote to support reform, they must be included in this discussion. Finally, we need to take on this disturbing gap in our social safety net with persistence and a commitment to succeed, even though it is controversial and difficult. Governor Ritter deserves our support as he potentially stakes his governorship on this problem that many talk about, but too few actually do anything about. We can take a lesson from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has been stirring radical change in his city. He told Business Week recently what he had learned as mayor. "The real world . . . requires that you don't jump to the endgame or to success right away. You do it piece by piece. Some people get immobilized when they come to a roadblock. My answer is, 'you know, it's a shame it's there, but now where else can we go? Let's just do it.'" In Colorado, it's time to take the Mayor's advice and just get health care fixed.
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