The Truth about Homosexuality – as I see it

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) recently determined that homosexual pastors should be permitted to be pastors of churches as long as they are in long-term committed relationships, and their congregations want them to be their pastors.

That has about half of the Lutherans of the ELCA upset. Many of them continue to believe that homosexuality is an abomination (according to the Bible) and such people should repent or be thrown out of the church regardless of whether they are pastors or simply members of the congregation.

A few years ago my bride and I attended the weekend conference of the Southeastern Synod. The subject of homosexuals was a major part of the discussions and we heard some extremely impassioned speeches on both sides of the issue.

From my perspective, the people who were most strongly against gays in our midst were people who had not made the distinction between homosexuality and pedophilia.

As a young man, I failed to make that distinction as well. In fact, I was ignorant in regards to both, and that ignorance almost got me thrown out of college.

During my first semester, I and a group of other young men were invited to join a group sponsored by our English professor. During our first gathering at his home, he explained how one of his professors had taken him and some fellow classmates under his wing and taught them some basic social skills that he found very useful later in life. He was simply passing on the favor.

He also freely passed around the alcoholic beverages. Of course, each was a specific type of cocktail. He was teaching us what to expect when we ordered such drinks – when we became old enough to drink legally! Most of us had never tasted anything other than beer. So this was a good thing… or so we thought.

The professor also served us various sorts of finger foods and taught us the proper way to balance our glasses and appetizer plates.

This went on about twice monthly. There were six or seven of us in his group. Then, he announced that he would invite each of us to come alone and he would serve dinner. His explanation – he couldn’t afford to feed us all at once.

When my turn came, I found an invitation had been slid under the door of my dormitory room. The professor admonished me to not tell anyone where I was going because that might cause my friends to be jealous. At that point, I felt a strange sensation in the pit of my stomach. Something didn’t seem right, but I didn’t know what it was.

I confided in a friend and told him if he didn’t see me in the morning, to come looking for me. Then, I went off for my appointment.

The professor immediately offered me alcoholic beverages and I refused. I lied and said my stomach had been upset. We then sat down to a very nice gourmet dinner. Later, he explained that it was probably too late for me to return to campus and invited me to spend the night. When he told me I’d have to sleep in the same bed as he and I could wear some of his silk pajamas. I lied again. I told him I’d made prior arrangements to spend the night with a friend who rented an apartment off campus.

Believe it or not, I still had no idea what was motivating that man. Growing up, my friends and I had often called each other ‘queer’, but to me, it was simply something kids called each other.

It wasn’t until I found myself sitting in the Dean of Men’s office that I learned the true meaning of the term. Someone had reported the professor who was immediately fired for serving alcohol to minors. But they also knew he was homosexual and they wanted to know what went on between me and him.

I told the Dean of Men exactly what happened. Then, I asked what exactly did homosexuality mean. I’m sure the look on my face as he explained some facts of life to me made him realize I was being totally truthful.

As a result of that experience, I came to distrust anyone who displayed the slightest hint of homosexual behavior and mannerisms. As I saw it, that professor was preying on my innocence. In my mind, that had to be what all homosexuals do.

I should also point out one other thing that happened to me when I was young. In fact, this event took place when I was very young. I was in the first or second grade and walking to school when I men pulled up beside me and offered me a ride. I had no idea who he was, and had been repeatedly warned by my parents. I ran up on the porch of the nearest house and began banging on the door. The stranger quickly drove away.

Now, that I’m grown (and hopefully a little wiser) I realize that the man who offered me a ride was a pedophile. He may or may not have been homosexual. He might have been a married heterosexual with children of his own. But he, like all other pedophiles, preyed on small children.

And that is the first point of my argument. Gays are not necessarily pedophiles. My college professor was ‘courting’ me and the others. He saw us as attractive young men and was hoping to win at least one of us over. When I gave my feeble excuses, he accepted them and let me leave without any trouble. A pedophile would have forced himself on me.

At that Synod meeting, most of the arguments against gays insinuated that gays are pedophiles. If we are ever to treat homosexuals with the respect they deserve, we have to make a clear distinction between being gay and being a pedophile.

This does not mean I don’t have adverse feelings about gay pride parades and the like. The ‘flaming’ behavior is not something I appreciate in any group. I don’t like the ‘in your face’ attitude coming from any minority group. If you want to be treated as equals, act like the majority of us act. With all minority groups, I think they should have every right that the rest of us have – nothing more and nothing less. Some of these groups, however, seem to want more. But that’s a debate for another day.

Now, allow me to share another personal note. I have lots of relatives, but I want to focus on two. One is an openly gay man and the other is a less than open drug addict. We continue to hope that the drug addict is recovering, but he has told so many lies in the past that it’s difficult to believe anything he says.

The gay relative is living in a committed relationship. He and his partner are also business partners and run a very successful enterprise. He is a joy to be around and one of the most loving individuals I know. He would give anyone the shirt off his back without hesitation.

With the drug addict, the opposite is true. One time he was arrested for shop lifting. He had his toddler daughter with him and was using her to distract the storekeeper. It didn’t work. Imagine the heartbreak of that child watching her daddy being arrested.

Which of these men are worthy members of society? Which of them gives me the greatest pride? Is there any doubt what my answer to both questions would be?

Many people point to the Bible and say that homosexuality is an abomination. Most of that is reflected in the writings of the Apostle Paul. And many Biblical scholars believe that Paul was homosexual. He often reflected on his sinfulness without stating specifically what his affliction was.

Paul was not married. In the Jewish culture of the time, an unmarried man was very uncommon. That’s why some scholars believe that Jesus may have been married; otherwise, he might not have been able to build the following he amassed.

While the Greek and Roman cultures of the time had no problem with homosexuality (and pedophilia for that matter), the Jewish culture thought otherwise. Thus, Paul had to keep his secret to himself.

Finally, science has proven that homosexuality is not the result of a conscious decision. The genetic make-up of gays indicates that they were born that way. If one truly believes that God does not make mistakes, the thought of an abomination seems rather absurd.

Neal Boortz, a radio talk show host that people either love or love to hate, has a standard retort to callers who insist gays consciously make the decision to be gay. He simply asks them, “When did you decide to be heterosexual?” If we all must ask ourselves whether we want to be gay or straight, when did we make that decision? I think it is a perfectly fair question. Since no straight person can answer it honestly any more than a gay can, we should accept the fact that we are genetically programmed one way or the other.

In summary, would it bother me to have a gay pastor? No. Would it bother me to have a pedophile as a pastor? You bet! I would run that second guy – or gal – out of town on a rail… after applying a liberal amount of tar and feathers.

Vegas Style Health Care Insurance

How many of us truly understand the business of insurance? I know a lot of people (especially those who want to see the government get into the health care insurance business) don’t seem to have a grasp for the basics. So, let me see if I can help.

When a person buys car insurance, he or she is betting that he or she is going to have an accident and wants someone else to be responsible for the repair bills. Conversely, the insurance company that sells the policy is betting that the car will not be in an accident.

It is simple arithmetic. If the car owner pays $1,500 a year to insure the car and nothing happens, the insurance company makes $1,500. If the car is in an accident, the insurance company loses money.

Now, if a person went to Vegas and waited for the roll of the dice before placing his or her bet, the person running the table would not allow it. If you want to gamble, you must play by the rules.

So, if a person bought a $40,000 luxury car and waited until he or she had an accident before trying to buy insurance, he or she would be told to go pound salt. A car insurance company will not cover a pre-existing condition.

That would be like trying to buy life insurance for a person who has already been embalmed.

Going back to the original example, the car being insured for $1,500 a year could easily cost several thousand to repair. Therefore, the insurance company has to hedge its bets by selling policies to as many people as possible. For every car that is in an accident, they hope to have hundreds that are not.

So, what’s so different about health care insurance. As far as gambling is concerned, it’s basically the same. The person buying the policy is betting that he or she will have a medical problem that will cost a lot of money. The insurance company is betting that the policy holder will live a long and healthy life.

While no one seems to have a problem with the drivers of luxury cars paying more for their car insurance than the folks driving the compact economy cars, lots of folks seem troubled with the idea of health insurance companies charging more for people who are overweight or have bad habits like smoking and drinking.

And heaven forbid that the health insurance company doesn’t want to take on the expense of a person with a pre-existing condition!

There are two factors that lead to people trying to buy health insurance when they have a pre-existing condition. The first occurs when a person changes jobs or moves to another state. Because of the laws (that can easily be changed) not all insurance companies can sell insurance in every state, and different employers use various companies. The HIPAA law is supposed to insure portability. It does not. So, let’s fix HIPAA!

The other cause of the pre-existing conditions problem is the people who don’t believe they need health insurance. Once again, there are folks who refuse to believe the uninsured would be uninsured on purpose. Maybe they should look at the number of uninsured motorists who, by law, are supposed to have insurance. Those folks buy it and keep it long enough to get their licenses renewed. Then they stop making the payments.

Granted, there are many people who simply cannot afford to insure their cars or their health. Many would much rather spend the money on more important things like cigarettes and iPods.

Until we reach our mid-twenties, most of us feel we are immortal. Many of us don’t even think about health insurance until we get married. For many, the move to get insured comes too late to have that first baby’s birth covered.

If a twenty-four year old suddenly has severe health problems and is diagnosed with a long term chronic illness, should an insurance company be forced to sell him or her a policy even though it’s clear they will only lose money on that person?

That’s not a gamble. That’s a route directly to bankruptcy.

This is where I agree the government should be involved. They should either insist that everyone be insured (and that the companies can not drop them for any reason), or step up and pay the medical bills for the immortal souls that saw no need for spending money on health insurance.

As for those who truly cannot afford to buy health insurance, the first thing that should be checked is their status as citizens of the United States. If they are properly documented, let tax payer money be used to pay for their insurance – with the private company of their choice.

Let’s stop painting the insurance companies as the enemy and put the blame where it properly belongs. Our professional politicians could fix this problem any time they want. But as long as it goes without being fixed, they’ll always have a platform for the next election.

Ramblings for September 2nd of ‘09

A friend recently sent me a photo of a swine flu victim.

The curse of the flu

Perhaps I’ll get the shot after all.

A few years back I got a shot to protect me from getting shingles. That’s one shot that I’ll never know if it worked. However, if it doesn’t work, I’ll be sure to know.

Which brings me to the thought that continues to bug me every time I hear someone defend the government’s plan for reforming health care.

I’ll preface my remarks by saying I agree that there are parts of our nation’s health care system that definitely need reformed. For instance, portability of insurance across state lines to make it more competitive and affordable.

I also believe the government should use our tax dollars to take care of people with pre-existing conditions. And that’s about all.

Anyone who believes the government can take over the entire health industry is living in la-la land.

Look at the track record. The Postal Service cannot exist without massive tax-payer subsidies. The VA hospitals are in the same boat. Social Security is already broke – that ‘lock box’ is filled with I.O.U.s from a government that is borrowing money from China. Medicare is also going broke.

What else does our government run? The military. Yes, I agree that we have the best trained and equipped military on the face of the earth. However, how many of our tax dollars that go to support that military are being wasted on a daily basis?

There is no doubt in my mind that if our military was run by private businesses, the costs would be far less.

And getting back to Medicare. Millions of dollars are being lost due to fraud and incompetence on the part of the politicians who are supposed to be overseeing the funding. In Washington, such lackadaisical behavior is met with a firm slap to the wrist. In private business, ineptitude would be met with a pink slip.

Our federal government and most state governments have proven time and time again that they do not know how to run a business of any kind. Whether the plan was for a non-profit enterprise or not, that’s how it ends up. Refer to the tax payer support required to keep our mass transit systems alive.

Congress and the President should stick to what they can do well – set regulations to force insurance companies and health providers to be more competitive and find ways to reduce costs. In the meantime, set up procedures to insure that all legal American citizens can receive health care as needed – using tax dollars if necessary – but not by forcing private insurance companies to intentionally take on policy holders that will sap more money out of the company than they could ever put in.

I just recognized an analogy. The government is that patient with the pre-existing condition that is sapping the tax payers for more than the tax payers could ever hope to get in return.

It’s time to heal that pre-existing condition by replacing the professional politicians with true representatives of the people.

Congratulations to Kevin Tracy

Kevin and his bride, Sandy, recently took a trip to the Dakotas. I’m not sure which state he visited last, but either North or South Dakota became number fifty for him. He can now proudly say he has seen all fifty states!

I’m one of those fortunate individuals who can not only say, “Well Done!” I can also say, “Welcome to the club!” However, I don’t know if there is such a club for people like us.

I completed the tour in 2002

I’m not sure when I was smitten with the idea of visiting all of our United States, but I know from whence the bug came. My sister, Gertrude Cronin, became aware of her possibility to achieve that goal after her children were grown and she started traveling with her husband whose job took him to many different parts of the country. In addition, her elder son made a career of the Air Force and found himself living in numerous states. My sister had no choice but to travel to see her grandchildren.

As it turns out, between IBM sending me to the far reaches of the continent and a family vacation taken in 1984 (twenty-nine states and 10,000 miles in six weeks) I quickly caught up with her. In fact, I beat her!

And she is still sitting at forty-nine. The one state that has eluded her is Hawaii. I returned to the island state a few years ago, but was unable to convince her to join us. I keep hoping to hit the lottery so I can take her while she is still able to enjoy it. Gertie is now 86 and remains in excellent health with a good clear mind. We need to get her there while she still looks good in a bathing suit!

Perhaps someone with the Hawaiian visitors and convention group will offer her a paid vacation. But let me forewarn them: she refused to go with us because we visited three of the islands… staying in hotels and condos, and flying between the islands. She wanted to take a cruise so she’d only have to unpack once at the beginning of the trip and pack once at the end.

Picky! Picky! Picky!

In any case, I know how I felt after seeing my fiftieth state. I imagine Kevin feels the same. Well done, Kevin!

On Turning Sixty-Five

I made it! All those companies that have been trying to sell me Medicare gap insurance had faith that I’d eventually become eligible. They were right.

But today, rather then dwell on the evils of aging (which is far better than the alternative… maybe) I thought I’d share a bit of humor with a great underlying message.

One of my friends from IBM, Ivette Lake, sent me a link to a video. I’ll let Jack Rushton take it from here.

Medical Inflation

I keep hearing how one-sixth of our economy is devoted to health care and can’t help wondering how much the hospitals are to blame.

A year or so ago I found myself in the hospital because we erroneously thought that I had suffered a heart attack. I was kept there for a few days and underwent a chest X-ray, a CAT scan, and a stress test on a treadmill with some radioactive material injected into my veins.

I was eventually transferred to another hospital where a cardiologist performed a heart catheterization and determined that there was nothing wrong with my heart.

A week or so later I received a bill from the first hospital. When I went to settle up, I learned that my insurance company had paid $1,200 and I was expected to pay $250. The total bill was around $20,000.

I asked about the difference (more than $18,000) and was told the hospital would write it off as a bad debt.

Now, multiply that amount times the number of people who pass through the many hospitals throughout the country.

If the hospital knew between me and my insurance the most they could hope for was less than fifteen hundred dollars, why inflate the bill? If the hospitals are routinely inflating their prices to create bogus bad debts simply to avoid paying taxes, I would think this practice is a large part of the health care costs problem.

I would think this would greatly upset politicians – those hospitals are taking away tax dollars that could be spent on ear marks!

On top of all this, consider those poor souls without insurance. They’re expected to pay the entire inflated amount. No why has no one mentioned anything about this?

Another busy week behind us

Nostalgia performing for throngs of fans

While we expected about a hundred and fifty Lutherans to show up for the Thrivent picnic, the fifty or so who did come were enthusiastic.

My personal groupies

My oldest son, his wife, and son enjoyed the hot dogs, corn on the cob, and playground equipment. They, as well as the other attendees, also thoroughly enjoyed the North Georgia Barbershop Singers.

These men sounded as good as they looked!

This was our first attempt to sponsor a good old-fashioned summer picnic. It wasn’t a smashing success, but the people who came seemed to have had a good time. Maybe we’ll try it again next year.

In the meantime, when I wasn’t involved in getting ready for the picnic I was busy getting ready for our first committee meeting for our church’s scrip program. Seven of us met yesterday afternoon and set the wheels in motion.

Hopefully, we’ll be selling gift cards in the near future and start chopping away our mortgage debt.

Grandsons

Between us, my bride and I have thirteen grandchildren – seven girls and six boys. In the past, I’ve displayed photos of them all and written about them all. Today, I’ll focus on just one… for two reasons. First, his father sent us a great picture of him attending his first Atlanta Braves baseball game. Second, I just read a great poem in Looking Back, a magazine about the good old days.

First, the photo:

Daniel Leeds - A number one baseball fan

Now the poem. It was written by Douglas Raymond Rose.

Grandpa’s Mirror

I saw myself today,

Running fast in the sun.

Barefoot and tanned was I,

Having all sorts of fun.

I saw myself today,

Down by the ol’ fishin’ hole,

Pole and stink-bait both in hand,

Thrilled and happy of soul.

“Where’d you see yourself?” you ask,

“That granted you so much joy?”

I’ll tell you: I watched my own grandson,

I watched myself in that dear barefoot boy!

Living off the Land

One of my ancestors, Jeremiah Leeds (1754 – 1838), was a master when it came to living off the land.

The following is from “The Daily Union History of Atlantic City and County” by John F. Hall, Published 1900:

Jeremiah Leeds (1754 – 1838), the first permanent (white) settler on this island, so far as known, like many of his fellow-countrymen one hundred years ago, was a man of stalwart mould. He stood six feet in height and weighed fully two hundred and fifty pounds and was a Quaker. There is no evidence that he left the Quaker neighborhood at Leeds Point and came to this island to live permanently previous to 1783, when he was twenty-nine years old. He built his first log cabin and cleared away the field where it stood. He raised several crops of corn and rye and became thoroughly familiar with the very great abundance of wild ducks and geese and many kinds of sea fowl which then were tame and plenty, but are now rarely seen. He no doubt experienced the great pest of mosquitoes where there were so many ponds and swamps among the sand hills, and assisted as a wrecker in those days when many vessels with valuable cargoes were lost on the Brigantine shoals. It is difficult in these days to fully appreciate the advantages and the disadvantages which this stretch of beach afforded a young man who seems to have had no aspirations for political honors, but had his way in the world. The records at Trenton show, that he had risen to be First Lieutenant in Captain Joseph Covenover’s Sixth Company, Third Battalion, Gloucester County Militia, his commission bearing the date of September 18, 1777.

For fifty-five years this stalwart son of the Revolution lived on this lonely island and prospered, occupying log cabins till a more pretentious frame structure could be built in his old age. He raised cattle and grain and sold to passing vessels his surplus products and was under but little expense for taxes or the luxuries of life.

He was careful to build brush fences along the beach to catch the sand and build up the sand-hills to keep high tides out of the fresh water ponds so necessary for the wild fowl which comprised an important part of his food supply. He disliked to have sportsmen trespass upon his estate, though he always granted permission to shoot game under certain restrictions when he was asked.

He was particular to keep away from his sand-hills the cattle and horses which owners on the mainland brought over here in the summer to pasture. If the grass were eaten off, the sand-hills would blow away, which was detrimental to his policy of building up the island. The big sand-hills, which many now living can remember, were the result of the care and vigilance of patriarch Leeds, the original proprietor.

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In case you’re wondering why a Quaker fought in the Revolutionary War (against the Society of Friends teachings of non-violence), we need only consider this additional information provided by Mr. Hall.

Jeremiah Leeds, in his old age, used to tell the story of a visit which his father, John Leeds, received one day from foraging Redcoats, just before the Revolution.

A British vessel entered Great Bay in full view from Leeds Point. Two barges with soldiers and sailors came ashore for fresh meat. The captain ordered the Quaker farmer to drive up his cattle which were grazing in the meadows nearby. This was done, where upon two fat steers were selected from the herd and quickly knocked in the head, their bodies quartered, loaded on wagons and taken to the barges and to the ship.

“All right. That’s all,” was the farewell greeting of the captain to the farmer, who considered himself lucky in losing so little by the uninvited visitors. The steers happened to be the personal property of Jeremiah and his brother, and were worth perhaps at that time six or eight dollars per head. This event had its effect in making a soldier of a Quaker boy in the war of the Revolution which soon followed.

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Another ‘by the way’, the island that Jeremiah occupied is now better known as Atlantic City.

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Sadly, Jeremiah was part of a tiny minority of humans who tried to take care of the land upon which their lives depended. Over the centuries, industrialists and others have taken a far different approach.

For example, starting in the 1600’s, wealthy men decided that ivory billiard balls were far superior to their wooden and clay predecessors. The best source of ivory at the time was the tusks of elephants. And the only way to get the tusk of an elephant was to kill the beast.

Over the next couple of hundred years, thousands of elephants were destroyed so that their ivory tusks could be ‘harvested’. The tusks were the only things carried away by the hunters; the bodies were left to rot where they lay.

One might think that humans eventually came to their senses and recognized the evil of slaughtering innocent animals so men of wealth could strike ivory balls with wooden sticks. That wasn’t it at all. The truth is that the manufacturers of the billiard balls recognized that the world was running low on elephants. For them to remain in business, they had to find a substitute material.

Obviously, animal life has often been seen as insignificant. The great American Buffalo slaughter was not caused by the population’s insatiable appetite for Bison steaks. On the contrary, humans wanted the hides. The leather was perfect for machine belts during the Industrial Revolution, and the winter coats of the animals worked well for winter coats for humans.

The meat of the animals was left to rot much like the elephant’s carcasses.

And the blame cannot be laid at the feet of men like Buffalo Bill Cody. The animals he shot were used to feed the armies of railroad workers.

In truth, the first people to slaughter Buffaloes for the skins were the American Indians who sold the hides to the white businessmen.

I’ve heard of numerous complaints about air and water quality in the United States. Perhaps growing up in Pittsburgh gives me a different perspective.

When I was a lad, people used their headlights during the day and mothers hung their wash in the basement to keep it clean while it dried. Very few people fished in the three rivers because of all the chemical pollutants.

Today, the air is much cleaner and the rivers have become a sportsman’s paradise with trout, pike, bass, and many other species being caught on a regular basis.

Our country has done a tremendous job in reducing pollution. Is there more that needs to be done? Of course, but things are so much better than they were.

I guess you’d have to see how bad it was before you could recognize how much better it is.

As for the senseless killing of animals… unfortunately, the slaughter continues. Poachers are killing mountain gorillas so people can have vases made out of their feet, elephants are still being killed for their tusks, sharks are killed for their fins, bears for their livers, and so on.

It’s very similar to the drug trade. As long as there is someone with a wad of money willing to buy these items, men will kill innocent animals so they can feed their families.

We, as humans, have a tendancy to look the other way to avoid seeing the evils in this world. Besides, we have to keep up with the lives and deaths of people like Michael Jackson and the next American Idol. Those things are far more important.

A Plan for Health Care

From what I’ve seen, the people who are in the majority in Congress refuse to listen to the loyal opposition. They also refuse to listen to the people who elected them. Those right-wing organized mobs refuse to listen to the politicians, so why should the politicians listen to them. (Wait, do politicians ever listen to us?)

I doubt if they’d listen to me (especially after I’ve insulted them), but I’m going to jot down my ideas anyway.

In the first place, Congress seems to be totally ignoring a recent CNN poll that indicates eighty-four percent of Americans are happy with their current health care plan. That leaves a mere sixteen percent who are not. So, why do the professional politicians want to redo everything? I can’t help but believe it will somehow equate to extra dollars in their campaign coffers… or a large amount of cash will go straight into their personal pockets.

That’s the way professional politicians work. But let’s forget them for now and consider the following changes that might fix some problems.

First, let’s fix HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). Currently, the only part of this act that is being implemented is the part about a patient’s privacy. Portability seems to simply be a word they used when naming the bill.

Portability, to me, means I can take it with me wherever I go. With health insurance, that is not at all true. If I move from Georgia to Iowa, I may not be able to keep my same insurance. I may have to drop my first insurer and seek out a new program. That becomes a really bad problem if I have a pre-existing condition that the new insurers don’t want to pay for.

Let’s take a realistic look at the pre-existing condition situation. If you were selling automobile insurance, would you want to take on a new customer simply so you could pay to repair a car that was in a bad wreck the day before the customer signed up? Would you want to insure a home after it had burned to the ground?

If you look at pre-existing conditions realistically, you can’t blame those greedy evil insurance companies for refusing to insure someone with serious health problems… unless the patient buys the policy prior to discovering the chronic illness.

If a patient is already insured when the devastating health issue is discovered, the Federal Government should make it unlawful for that insurance company to drop the patient. The Feds should insist that the patient gets every medical procedure necessary to maintain reasonable health for as long as possible.

If insurance companies are forced to take on new customers with expensive health problems, they would have to charge those people much more… making it too expensive for the patient. The only other option would be to raise the rates for everyone else.

Of course, the government could simply force them to cover the patient’s expenses without doing anything else. Eventually the company would have to declare bankruptcy. Then, they could go out of business… or get some taxpayer money to bail them out.

Insurance companies and the people who buy the policies (health, auto, home, long term care – every type of insurance) are gamblers. If I buy a million dollar life insurance policy, I’m betting that I’m going to die long before I pay all the premiums. The insurance company is gambling that I’m going to live long enough to pay at least most of the premiums and they can make extra money by investing the cash from my premiums in stocks and bonds.

If I have six months to live and want to pay a few thousand dollars for a million dollar life insurance policy, the insurer would have to be totally out of his or her mind to sell it to me.

So, people with pre-existing conditions should be able to keep the policy they currently have and switch to another insurer if they cannot stay with their initial company (if they are moving to another state and we haven’t yet solved the portability issue.)

If a person is uninsured and develops a chronic illness, we, as a nation, have two choices. We can say, “Sorry pal, you should have bought a policy.” Or, we can do the compassionate thing and let tax dollars be used. While I would’ve preferred the person buy a policy before the problem arose, I think spending tax dollars to make life easier for that person is a legitimate use of my money.

The uninsured person who needs to see a doctor for normal maladies can go ahead and pay for the visits and medication on his or her own. If the patient can’t afford it, he or she can ask a charitable group to help, or spend some time at a medical facility working off the debt.

Finally, I’d encourage (but not force) every insurance company to provide plans with high deductibles and Health Savings Accounts.

Health Savings Accounts are similar to 401-K accounts. In some cases, employers make contributions and the employee can add to the total through payroll deductions. As long as the money is used for medical expenses, it is tax free.

The high deductibles and Health Savings Accounts put a great deal of accountability on the patient. Medical expenses are watched much more closely and patients are encouraged to shop around to find less expensive care.

If patients shop around, they force medical facilities and doctors to be more aware of competition. This can cause prices to drop… as can the portability of policies.

One other thought, portability could open up a new industry – consolidators for health care. The large majority of businesses are open to giving quantity discounts. An individual trying to buy a policy from Blue Cross/Blue Shield might get a better price if he or she enlisted another hundred individuals to contact Blue Cross/Blue Shield together. Consolidators would do for people looking for medical insurance what they’ve done for people looking for airline tickets.

There are any number of possibilities if we allow the free market and competition to work for us.

Should the Feds leave well enough alone? Not at all. There are a number of regulations they could put into place to enforce portability. They could also draw up some regulations that would force insurers to make policies more understandable and EQUAL. Common people should be able to look at the offerings of competing companies and compare apples to apples. They can then make their decision based on the cost of the policy.

This last step would greatly reduce the costs of medical insurance.

That’s some of my thoughts. Will President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid listen? Probaly no more than George Bush, and his power brokers. However, we, the people need to continue shouting until the professional politicians finally recognize that we are talking to them.