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Show will i gpi if ni t m Si o o Ready to operate? Everyone from the White House to the suburbs of Bountiful are pushing for health care reforms. Hillary Rodham Clinton has joked that not since Moses came down from the mountain have people been more anxious to see inspired regulations to enhance our society. And inspired it must be: lives are depending on it. Leavitt says states can cure health care plague By Jeff Haney Signpost features editor The federal government should take heed from Utah in health care reform, said Gov. Mike Leavitt Saturday at a health care convention in Park City. "There is a terrible amount of uncertainty with the federal government," Leavitt said. "In essence, Congress wants to plow into it and fix it as soon as possible. They should do it like we do here in Utah one piece at a time." Leavitt spoke with Richard L. Scott, president and CEO of HCA Columbia, the largest health care service provider in the United States. Scott's company merged with HCA in February to acquire St. Mark's Hospital and the Davis Hospital and Medical Center. Nationwide, the $11 billion company has more than 150 health care facilites and employs more than 130,000. "A year ago we were in only five cities. We were optomistic to move into Utah," Scott said. He does not agree with Hillary Rodham Clinton's health care reform agenda, he said. Instead of following the lead of the first lady, Leavitt has appointed a task force of Utahns that do not financial interested vested in health care reform. The governor said he strayed from asking physicians to sit on the commit- ; a I ffjirt: I Bftlil q) Urgency of universal health care coverage hits home after incident tee because other special interest groups like insurance agents, hospital administrators and patient advocates would demand a spot as well. "We've got to have some tools, timetables and targets that would make this fairly simple. The states could solve this problem in a way that is quite workable," he said. "But we could not to a total health care reform in a 45 day legislature. It would be inconceivable for a state to tackle that. We have broken it down into pieces to make the master plan." Congress will attempt to pass a health care bill by November. If they do, Leavitt said, it will "make a quantum leap to help the citizens." Lawmakers have agreed on insurance reforms and modified pricing, but cannot reach a consensus on Medicaid flexibility and abortion. "We have made a secure decision in this country to have universal health coverage. We haven't got a system that is really efficient," he said. "I learned early in the debate that there is not a table big enough for everyone to sit at. Everyone wants something and something has to give." Leavitt said it is hard to plan for the state because of the ever-changing market. "We monitor the market and we'll change with it as we go," he said. The urgency of universal health care coverage became reality for me last Friday night. As my roommate and I were returning home from a night of frolic on the town we witnessed a horrific scene: a gang bashing. At a stop light in downtown Salt Lake City, two teenagers were victims of needless and heartless violence occurring way too often on America's city streets. One minute, a bright, energetic young man was laughing and joking with friends; the next, laying on the hard asphalt in a puddle of blood. Apparently, about four gang members pulled up next to the two youths at the red light in a jeep. They jumped out brandishing bats and began attacking the car. The owner of the car jumped out to try to stop the demolition. In the process, both young men were injured. One had been whacked in the face with a Louisville Slugger his cheekbone and nose on the left side of his face were shattered. David, my roommate, a licensed EMT, jumped out to offer first aid. He ran to the bloody youth sitting on his knees in the curb. I cannot forget his feeble pleas: "Please don't take me to the hospital. I can't afford it. Really, I'm fine. I can't pay for it. . . " Obviously, he needed medical assistance, and he was not going to accept it because he knew he had no way to pay for it. This accident, which he did not instigate, was going to sink him financially. He was willing to unjustly suffer because he did not have insurance. When the ambulance arrived we had to coerce him into the vehicle The Wrong Side of Sanity Jeff Haney ready to rush to the emergency room. Granted, he was in shock and was not thinking too straight, but he was insistent he did not could not go to the hospital. His face had been reduced to hamburger by a bat-wielding maniac and he was hoping the pain would just go away with a few aspirins and a good night's sleep. For four months I had the same fear. After I turned 23 my mother informed me I was no longer covered by my parent's insurance policy. I was not employed by a company that could offer me the coverage I needed, and I could not afford it through an independent agency. I was stuck. Luckily, after a little investigation, we were informed I was, indeed, covered until I was 26-years-old. It was a giant relief. The rising cost of health care is scary. We need it 100 percent coverage and we need it now. It angers me our elected representatives haggle over partisan politics while teens with their heads bashed in by gang members plead with policemen to leave them on the streets to die. To them, death is easier to face than a insurmountable bill from the hospital. No matter the cost for health care, nothing is worth losing a life. |