Health Care and Knowing When To Hold and When To Fold

When Kenny Rogers sang the “The Gambler,” the lyrics “ you gotta know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away, when to run” - provided advice to live by and succeed – at all levels. So what's that got to do with Health Care?

I don't know about you, but Nancy Pelosi promising to have a health care bill out of the House before the August recess does not give me a warm feeling. Like you, I've watched this process – if that's what it can be called, weave around like a drunken sailor, and bounce off one wall after another. Is it supposed to cut costs, or provide care to the 47 million that someone somewhere claims don't have insurance, even though 50% of that group are estimated to be eligible for insurance that already exists? And another 30% are estimated to be illegal immigrants that shouldn't be entitled to health insurance in the first place? I'll bet a large percentage of the already eligible but not enrolled are the same people that never used those $40 vouchers to buy the boxes they needed to see TV after the changeover to digital. I – like most Americans – don't mind being my brothers keeper – but that brother better get off the deck and help himself from time to time.

Democracy is a messy business – by anyone's measure. Where else could the vast resources of the legislative and executive branches expend so much effort, and do it so poorly, as they have in this health care change situation? It was gonna be a tough thing to do under any circumstance, because this change will affect all those taxpayers out there that actually pay taxes and vote. And most of them seem to feel reasonably satisfied with their health care coverage. And with the way this change process has been going, the status quo looks pretty damned good. Even if all of those 47 million are counted – and they shouldn't be, that means roughly 14% of the population is the center of whatever we're trying to accomplish. If your odds were only 14% in any card game, it's time to fold – it's time to run away. But no, another iteration of this incredibly complicated bill – with large parts of it so complex that they will never see the light of day, is being worked on in committee to come up with a winnable bill.

Winnable for whom? Answer: The Congress – specifically the President and the Democrats – certainly not for the country. The latest piece of news I've heard is the possibility of a five person executive council – read “Czars” - that will oversee and make the decisions that will keep the plan revenue neutral and “fair” (God, how that word scares me) for all. What a frightening thought! But the people so wrapped up in their own underwear – so dedicated to passing a bill – just dig in deeper and deeper – and leave logic and common sense ever further behind them.

It's time to hold – it's time to fold – it's time to turn away – it's time to run.

Congress - take a recess, take a deep breath, talk to the people that will be affected by whatever is passed, then come back and try again. Throw the 1100 pages plus 300 plus amendment pages in the trash – there's been so much back room dealing to gain votes that no one trusts what's in them anyway. When the devil is in the details, and no one can explain or even foresee the consequences, risk is too high. The status quo is so much more to be preferred.

The lessons for us mortals to gain from the health care mess are pretty straight forward:

● When something that started out with good intentions becomes so complicated that no one can understand it, or explain how it will meet its stated intentions, it's time to get back to the drawing board.

● When the responses to the plan keep pushing back and the response to the push back becomes ever more complicated, it's time to fold. Its time to go back to the drawing board and start by reexamining those intentions.

● When other circumstances overwhelm the importance of intentions – like the recession - its time to hold, and prepare for the time when progress can be made.

● And, if the best laid plans require misrepresentation and, at best, half truths to pass inspection, its time to turn away, and run.

Now let's all learn from what's going on, and let's tell our elected officials that knowing when to hold, when to fold, when to turn away, and when to run are all parts of showing integrity and leadership. They're absolutely essential to our success - at every level.

Written by Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph & Fax: 602-795-4100; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com;Website:www.coxconsultgroup.com; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com

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