There are a number of stories being told in the healthcare debate.  Here is my perspective.  At the outset, let me state where I am “coming from” in this discussion.

I am a small business owner.  I provide health insurance coverage to my employees and pay 100% of the premium.  The plan is not perfect, but it has good benefits, including deductible and co-insurance rates that are manageable.  Next to employee salaries and rent, health insurance is my largest overhead cost.  Many small companies do not insure their employees, require employees to pay a portion of their monthly premium, or have deductible and co-insurance levels significantly higher (worse) than mine.

I live in Texas, which leads the nation in the percentage of residents who are uninsured, with 25% of our populace (compared to 15% nationally) living on the edge of physical or financial ruin due to a lack of access to healthcare or the resources to pay for it.  These are not just unemployed or undocumented people.  Over 70% of uninsured households in Texas have at least one full-time worker.

I have represented hundreds of people who have no health insurance, who are suddenly and unexpectedly faced with a critical need for healthcare.  I have seen the anguish these people confront when they are faced with the choice of going without healthcare, putting as much as they can afford on a credit card, or attempting to obtain care from the limited public health services available.  Medical debt is responsible for well over 50% of all personal bankruptcies in our country.  And if you live in Harris County, you should be extremely thankful for Ben Taub and LBJ, which provide care residents of other counties literally would die for.

Finally, I believe government serves a purpose beyond protecting our borders and defending our freedom, both of which I support.  Government should also protect and provide for the weakest among us, educate our children, care for our elderly and promote opportunity for everyone, regardless of who their parents are.  When I pay taxes, I support those efforts, and if paying a little more means we have a more just and caring society, I agree to pay more.

Having stated those “bona fides,” I understand that the mess that is our healthcare insurance system will not be fixed with one stroke of the legislative pen.  Notice I did not say our healthcare is a mess.  No one understands more than I how well American healthcare serves those, including myself and my family, who have health insurance coverage.  However, when over 35% of every premium dollar is eaten up by administrative costs and profits, and health insurance executives receive multi-million dollar bonuses for overseeing a system that generates revenue from denying or restricting access to care, something has to change.

President Obama was smart to leave the details of healthcare reform to Congress.  We saw what happened when the Clintons attempted to impose a solution from the White House.  Even with legislative cover, and a solution that is at best a watered-down version of the original goal, the economic powerhouses of those who have gorged on the current dysfunctional system are gearing up for an epic battle during the coming Congressional recess.  The media battle has already begun.  You will be told the government is taking over healthcare, that you will lose your coverage, that you will no longer be able to choose your doctor, that bureaucrats and not your doctor will decide what treatment you receive, and that you or someone you know will die if things change.

What we currently have is a healthcare insurance industry that is under-regulated and running amok.  Insurers, and not the government, have already taken over healthcare.  Insurers decide if you can obtain coverage and exclude those with prior illnesses or claims.  Insurers choose what doctor you are allowed to see.  Health insurance bureaucrats make or implement medical decisions that control what treatments and medications are covered.  People die every day because they cannot see a doctor at all, or wait until it is too late because they cannot afford to do otherwise.

Things can get worse.  You are going to hear all about that.  But, things can also get better.  I do not ask that our government fix everything with the first attempt.  But, the current system is unfair and immoral.  We live in the wealthiest and greatest country in the world.  There is no excuse when a person who works full time cannot afford to send his or her spouse or child to a doctor.  I am not getting bogged down in the details of the proposals.  I realize this is a political process, and what comes out of Congress at the end of that process will likely be no more than the first step.  But, if it improves access to coverage for the 25% of my fellow Texans who have none, it will be a step in the right direction.