In the sixties, the initial funding for Medicare or Medicaid was sixty-five million dollars.  For purposes of this discussion, it does not matter which one.  It’s now more than a trillion.  Most floods start as a trickle.  Stay with me and see if this makes sense.

One cold night, as an Arab (this is not profiling, I pasted it from the web) sat in his tent, a camel gently thrust his nose under the flap and looked in. “Master,” he said, “let me put my nose in your tent. It’s cold and stormy out here.” “By all means,” said the Arab, “and welcome” as he turned over and went to sleep.

A little later the Arab awoke to find that the camel had not only put his nose in the tent but his head and neck also. The camel, who had been turning his head from side to side, said, “I will take but little more room if I place my forelegs within the tent. It is difficult standing out here.” “Yes, you may put your forelegs within,” said the Arab, moving a little to make room, for the tent was small.

Finally, the camel said, “May I not stand wholly inside? I keep the tent open by standing as I do.” “Yes, yes,” said the Arab. “Come wholly inside. Perhaps it will be better for both of us.” So the camel crowded in. The Arab with difficulty in the crowded quarters again went to sleep. When he woke up the next time, he was outside in the cold and the camel had the tent to himself.

Here’s my take on where we are.  I know you didn’t ask, I simply sensed you wanted to know.  Reform will pass.  What kind of reform?  Who knows?  Very few of us. Who cares?  A large number of those voting on it, those whose winter condos lay inside the 495 corridor don’t care.

Will healthcare reform legislation be the 3 AM call of our generation?  Many raised this same question in 1993.  Would it be different had the republicans brought healthcare to the table?  We will never know.  It does not matter if the camel’s nose enters from the left side or the right side of the tent.  Others debate which end of the camel is in the tent.  It matters not.  Once the Chicago Cubs went to night games, we were forced to change how we look at the world.

There are many things in healthcare reform.  I think that the most important one is the government.  It’s like a bad stain, once it’s in, it’s difficult to remove.  You may choose to differ, but I think the crux of the discussion is not what the details are in the reform legislation, but that it exists.

I agree fully that reform is needed.  Unfortunately, once we let the government drive, we never again get the keys.  In for a penny, in for a pound—if you convert from the Euro, it still makes sense.