Penpals: Write for Health Care Reform

Remember back in February, when the world was new? My favorite health care policy wonk and medical blogger, Shadowfax, was sulking because an old friend from his doubtlessly grungy Chicago days had taken a new job, and -- in his words: "He dropped me like a warm turd."

A word [As in: Psst! Over here! Shhh! Quiet, listen up!] -- I am embarrassed to say that I have long periods of mental idling, much like a coughing old jalopy, and while my opinions about health care reform are incredibly strong, they are not well informed beyond the data of the personal. So I do what I always do when smarty-panted conversants start to leave footprints on the top of my head: I locate those that seem closest to professing my own sentiments, but sanely and clearly, and I read them. Yes, I cut out a huge portion of original and new material that I rightly ought to be processing. But I also benefit from well-appointed points-of-vue, dotdotdot.

In short, I let other people do the work.

I am very fond of Shadowfax's old friend. Our relationship is new, and probably conducted under the observant eyes of his protection detail. I've become an ardent penpal.

Okay, so I have written him once. And I wrote "my story" up for submission to a chatty, lighthearted version of the serious, fer-real working group on health care reform.

I've emailed more regularly, and he tweets me all the live long day.

I haven't quite recovered from my "eureka!" moment (long time fan of Archimedes in the tub...). As I began setting down my story of health care and health insurance difficulties, it became crystal clear that any changes made will come too late to help me.

I am no longer one of those people who might slip through the various and sundry cracks -- I've already fallen through; I've already lost hope.

Given that this places me squarely among the most powerless, I expect my letters and emails to self-destruct within 30 seconds of their being opened.

President Obama needs vibrant, smart, effective people around him. My smart-ass, self-pitying "story"? It doesn't inform, nor does it inspire. It whines.

The NYT tells me this morning that Obama's point man on launching health care reform legislation is Senator Max Baucus of Montana, chair of the Senate Finance Committee -- "a political shape-shifter and crafty deal maker who is not fully trusted by either party."

It sounds, cough, like a match made in heaven.

And so... bleary-eyed and very sick, I resolved to write Shadowfax's good buddy one more time, and to copy that letter to every member of the Senate Finance Committee, which -- imagine the coincidence -- is actually asking for popular feedback.

As I familiarized myself with the Finance Committee's web site, I felt rather stupid for not having known of its existence or importance before today.

Senator Baucus authored a 98-page whitepaper -- Call to Action: Health Reform 2009 -- back on November 12, 2008.

There is access provided, via video and text, to all eight Health Care Reform Hearings held thus far in 2009, and the list of witnesses is impressive.

Most importantly?

To submit comments on the Senate Finance Committee’s Health Reform Policy Options email PDF or Word files to Health_Reform@finance‐dem.senate.gov

You who have not slipped through the cracks, you who remain stolid contributing members of society -- please find the time to put your thoughts on health care reform down in the requisite technical form, and send it off to the politicians.

I've always wanted to use the phrase "It is incumbent upon..."

It is incumbent upon us all -- upon the pity-partying, upon the thriving, upon the vast majority of those who simply and steadily struggle -- to tell our stories, yes, but also to frame those stories with information and suggested guidance.

If you want to give your blogging brain a jumpstart, give some of Shadowfax's opinion pieces a good read.

Oh! Oh, my! What do you mean you don't share my liberal leftwing gay pinko points-of-view? I'm shocked. Share, then, if you will, those policy wonks you'd like to make part of the common information pool. To whom do you give a nod of the head?

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Well, I'm off to make friends and influence people. Maybe feed a few cats, do a little laundry.
Take morning meds (This month's medication cost? $1113.00), recharge the wheelchair, get in bed, elevate the frozen purple legs, the throbbing infected shoulder and arm. Take a few pain pills, decide whether my ballooning face (the left side only) warrants a call to my MDVIP doctor. Ponder where I will come up with the $1,327 for my monthly BCBS health insurance premium. If I get rid of telephone, internet, television, and Netflix -- will I be able to make a payment to the hospital where I am having my 6th major surgery in less than 9 months -- in just 2 weeks? Will the fact that I still owe $900 impact their willingness to accept me, yet again, as a patient? What will happen if I code again? Is it possible some doctor or nurse will decide that I shouldn't be vigorously resuscitated, being such a drain on an active and working society? No wonder I don't sleep.