A Needed Voice

I miss Molly Ivins. How much of an asset would she have been this summer during the health-care reform push?

I didn't search very hard, but I found a column she wrote on the state of health care in America:

It's from 2002, but take out some of the particulars, like the out-of-date statistics, and it could've been written yesterday.

Have you noticed that the health-care system is not working? In fact, it's falling apart. And the most curious thing about that is how few of the people for whom the system still works -- and they're the ones who make the decisions -- are aware of it.

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If you have health insurance, the system is a pain in the behind but it works. If you don't have health insurance, you are flat out of luck. And in case you hadn't noticed, more and more employers are deciding not to offer health insurance, or using "temporary" workers or out-sourcing various tasks so they won't have to cover the workers.

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The most maddening thing about the sheer stupidity of America's health care system is that the far better alternative is perfectly clear. Every other industrialized nation manages to do this better than we do.

The answer is universal health insurance, a single-payer system. Every time we start to get serious about reform, the right wing starts screaming, "Socialized medicine, socialized medicine." And then we're all supposed to run, screaming with horror. But if you want to see horror in action, try the emergency room of any large public hospital in this country. And for a truly hilarious experience, try to get emergency medical help on Christmas Eve.

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We can't wait for the political system to get round to doing something about this: We need to help ourselves now.

I miss her.