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On the national stage and in front of the curtain, we only hear from politicians, pundits and special interests. What these folks say is typically questionable at best; truthfulness in politics doesn’t seem to count for much these days. The airways are dominated by buzzwords that are intended to influence rather than inform. How many times have you heard a talking head mention “quality”, “affordability” and “access to care”? Hundreds, right? When was the last time you heard them define any of those terms? Probably never.
The sad fact is that political speeches, television commercials and media pronouncements don’t contribute much when it comes to the real you and your real health. Politicians, pundits, political parties and special interests aren’t the ones who care for you when you’re sick, and the odds are that they have no idea what it’s like to be seriously ill, worried about insurance or unable to find a physician who will accept them into their practice. In spite of all of those “personal” stories they tell, (you know, the ones about the worried mother they met on that campaign swing through Everytown, USA – the one who asked them to rigorously pursue their political agenda “for the children”), the vast majority of our political leaders and pundits haven’t a clue about the healthcare system or what they’ve done to it. Heck, they don’t even bother to read the healthcare legislation they pass, as Senator Max Baucus recently admitted to a constituent: