Richard Wiecki's Profile

If you agree that medical problems shouldn’t bankrupt ordinary Americans, and if you think that simply obtaining healthcare coverage shouldn’t force people to jump through hoops for insurance-company actuaries, and if you believe that escalating healthcare costs will eventually bankrupt the U.S. — as they well might — then the Senate bill, flawed as it is, is the best initial step in the direction of reversing every one of these problems.

“This throws the bar very high for the healthcare sector,” Dixon said. “It says, ‘Quit complaining the technology isn't there yet.' I don't think healthcare gets to hide behind, ‘Oh, this can't be done, it's too expensive.' ”

“If Facebook can allow hundreds of thousands of user to redact, per post, why can't we in healthcare? There is no reason,” she said.

The point is that, whatever a portion of the public may think, the status quo is not an option. We must surmount our parochial self-interest and pass healthcare reform for the sake of our common future.