As a regular reader of your blog and a family physician I am very disappointed that you have chosen to mix religion with politics. The reality our country faces is that we are the only developed country in the world that does not guarantee health care for all of our citizens. The leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the United States is Health Care debt. Contrary to what conservative media would wish you to believe about this bill, although far from perfect, it is good for America. No longer will families loose everything because their child has cancer and they can not get health insurance due to pre-existing condition clauses. No longer will medicare advantage plans ration care of their beneficiaries and make money off the federal government. No longer will people feel trapped in a job because their insurance is tied to it and they have a pre-existing condition thus can not afford to leave and loose their current plan. Fewer of my patients will tell me they have not been taking their medication because they can't afford it. Fewer of my patients will die due to preventable illness.

I understand that people want smaller government. I too wish we could have smaller government. I wish were able to flourish in our Church community and care for every need of our fellow man. . Unfortunately the Church is not able to do this on its own. It would be great if we could share in community as followers of Jesus did, however in today's world this is not a workable solution for America. Thus we need the Government to provide certain social safety nets for us. The time has come for us to provide health care as one of these social nets.

Many presidents since the time of Truman, both republican and democrat have tired to accomplish this. Lets quit throwing out common political phrases and get down to the root issue.

Do you believe health care is a right? A basic need that should be met for all people? Or do you believe that it is a commodity and should be sold to the highest bidder? I for one believe it is a right and essential to the pursuit of happiness. If you believe it is a right then this bill is a step in that direction. If you believe it is a commodity, then EMTALA the law that forces Emergency Departments to treat all people for emergent issues should also be rallied against, and you should have to provide your proof of insurance before you get treated for your heart attack or thrown in jail when you fail to pay your bill....my point is if you don't view it as a right, and do view health care as a commodity then nothing should be guaranteed, no care should be forced upon instituions. Where would that leave us as a country?