Form commission to fix health care

I don't know whether I am for or against the present health care bill being considered for passage in Congress. In fact I don't know how anybody, including the congressmen themselves, can form a responsible opinion on a bill described as over 2,000 pages in length that has not been fully revealed.

What I am opposed to is passing any bill just to claim that it represents health care reform.

The whole process that has brought us to this point seems flawed. It has become so politicized that I doubt if anyone knows whether the current bill will improve or lead to a deterioration of our present medical practices. I do not have confidence that a Congress made up of politicians dedicated to their own philosophic bias and party affiliations can devise such a measure.

Proof of this can be drawn from indications that virtually all Republicans oppose this bill and all Democrats favor it. I am not reassured by this. Certainly this does not represent a bipartisan approach.

While I am probably naive, I would like to see the initial proposal for health care reform be developed by a blue ribbon commission made up of experts in medicine and allied fields. After their careful consideration and recommendations a bipartisan committee of congressmen could draft a bill incorporating their proposals to be presented to all members of congress for ratification.

That would reflect a process I could respect. The current effort does not represent the bipartisan approach we were promised.

James Mooney

Arlington Heights