Rethink remedy: Our health care system has problems. Obamacare clearly isn't the solution.

Health care.

We know we need it.

We know there are cracks in the system that need to be fixed to make the quality we are used to sustainable.

We know there are people who have trouble affording insurance, and therefore, medical care, or finding coverage because of health concerns -- 15 percent of us to be exact.

And we know we don't want to see people choose between eating and care. But we are also aware that working Americans are stretching to cover the costs of the system and the entitlements right now, so we want the programs to be cost-efficient, too.

Those are truths.

Those are the facts.

Where the difference comes is when we try to decide how we will provide health care, how we will care for those who need us -- and what standards we want to keep for the care we receive.

What concerns people about the Affordable Care Act -- and it is not just Republicans, by the way -- is that the changes throw the baby out with the bath water, that providing the solution of caring for those who cannot get or afford health insurance is going to eclipse the need to keep choice and timely, quality coverage.

They are worried that if the government gets involved, care will suffer -- and the resulting bureaucratic nightmare will send professionals scurrying out of the system, making it nearly impossible to get care in a timely fashion or to really choose your own plan or doctor.

And we haven't even touched on the effect on jobs.

There is no question something needs to be done about health care -- not only making sure it is available to those who need it, but also eliminating the waste and flaws that cause its costs to increase exponentially each year.

We need a plan. We need a strategy. We need a solution.

The problem is, this isn't the one.

If it were, there would be people clamoring to get into the system, not trying to figure out how to get out of it.

So, if we are committed to the Affordable Care Act, start with Congress. No more taxpayer-supported cadillac health plans. You are the guinea pigs and you are now the first consumers on the health care exchanges.

No exemptions -- for you or the people on your staff or in the employ of the government.

Same thing for everyone who lauded the plan and who called for its passage -- no exemptions for you either.

But if we are ready to acknowledge that this fiasco is just that and that there are some looming and scary questions and consequences already, perhaps the leadership in Washington should set aside its need to create history and instead, come up with good, quality legislation that deals with the issues and concerns.

No more stubbornness. No more amped up rhetoric.

All Americans have a right and a duty to speak up on this issue -- and to demand that their leaders listen.

And we need to -- before it is too late.

We cannot afford as a nation to continue to fund failed policies or mismanaged programs. There just isn't that much left in the till -- or in taxpayers' pockets, if there are any of them left.

Published in Editorials on September 30, 2013 10:57 AM