Thoughts on Health Care

The latest political boogeyman is Universal Health Care, as proposed by the Obama administration. Lots of rhetoric is thrown back and forth on the issue, and the Right Wing, while offering little in the way of alternatives, continues to snipe at the proposal.

Some of the common themes:

It's going to lead us to socialism!
Please. For one thing, the checks and balances in our government are too strong, and the election cycles are too short, for us to become a socialist society. If the people don't want the US to become a socialist society, we'll vote out those who we think are leading us in that direction.

Besides, the government has been providing essential services that benefit the public good for a long, long time. Having a state-sponsored police force hasn't led us to socialism. Nor, for that matter, has publicly-run health care, like Medicare.

There will be a government bureaucrat standing between you and your doctor!
I'm not sure how this is worse than having an insurance industry bureaucrat standing between you and your doctor. Or between you and your reimbursement, for that matter.

Private capital is incented to operate more efficiently!
Private capital is incented to maximize profits. Sure, they might provide health insurance with fewer employees than the government will provide it with, but they are also looking for ways to get more money into the pockets of the executives and shareholders. Some of this is done by operating more efficiently. Some of this is done by increasing premiums. And some of this is done by denying coverage to people who believe they've purchased it. In a government-run universal system, there is no profit or bonus incentive, so those costs are eliminated.

As for operating efficiently - raise your hand if you've never heard of governmental entities cutting jobs? I thought so.

Government spending will increase! Taxes will go up!!!
And spending on private healthcare coverage will go down. Again, I fail to see the difference between a dollar sent to the government and a dollar sent to a private company.

You'll have to wait in line to get treatment!
Which is no different from today. People don't get surgery on the same day they sign up for it, they have to wait a couple of weeks. As for the converse, it's simply not true that in countries with socialized medicine that a person in cardiac arrest (for example) has to wait for the doctor to treat a kid with a skinned knee. Would any civilized society stand for that?

I admit that I can't begin to do an analysis of all the dollars associated with a government-sponsored health coverage system. I also don't deign to understand all the details of the Obama package. There is no doubt that there are tremendous flaws in the system, many of which are the result of granting too many concessions to the insurance industry.

But common sense tells me that, in the long run, a government-sponsored health industry will be cheaper than privately run insurance companies. Yes, more people will be covered, but those people already incur costs that the rest of us cover through Medicare, or rate increases needed to offset charity care. If covered, those currently uninsured are also more likely to receive preventative treatment rather than more costly critical care.

And since the government already provides Medicare and Medicaid, there is already an infrastructure in place upon which the new system can be built.

Health insurance should be about providing for the health care of people, not about increased profits. We will never have adequate coverage until those providing the coverage have the patient's health as their primary focus. That is not currently the case.

Montpelier Vice

It's been awhile since I wrote about Montpelier. In fact, it doesn't look like I even finished the essay I started about Big Tree, the wonderful band that I saw at the Langdon Street Cafe last spring. (And rather than going there now, let me just say this: if they are in your town, go see them. The live performance is mesmerising.)

In a similar vein to Big Tree tonight was the "Indie Folk" band Rusty Belle, from Amherst, Massachusetts. OK, so these guys were right up there, too. "Indie Folk" doesn't really capture the sound of this band, which moves from folk to blues to country to rock to eclectic, Tom Waits-sounds. Rusty Belle is another vibrant live act, and seemed to have a pretty good following established in Montpelier. All of the the band members are mulit-instrumentalists, which leads to such oddities as the fact that three different band members sat behind the drum kit at various times, as well as the fact that the primary drummer also appears to be Rusty Belle's best guitar player. All band members are fine singers, highlighted by frontwoman Rita Rockit, who's stylings are at times reminiscent of Janis Joplin.

Rusty Belle rocks

Terrific live music is always appreciated, but the revelation of this trip was the Three Penny Tap Room. Open since May 1, this is a first-class beer bar with a rotating menu of brews on tap (leaning heavily toward Belgians this week), along with top shelf bottled offerings, wine and liquor. Thursday nights are know as "Cask Night," in which a new cask of exotic beer is openend and enjoyed. Tonight's offering was the sublime Harveistoun Ola Dubh Special 12 Reserve from Scotland. According to my new friend (and proprietor/bartender) Scott, only three casks came into the US, one of which landed in Montpelier. (Another may have found it's way to Portland's Novare Res, but I haven't confirmed that.)

So what's so special about Special 12? Well, this is a lovely stout that has been finished in casks in which Scotch was aged for 12 years. The result is a low-carbonation chocolaty/oaky tasting brew that definitely drinks as much like a liquor as it does a beer. In fact, the Three Penny served it in 8-oz snifters. This is definitely a sipping beer. At 8% alcohol, that's just as well.

Stout finished in Scotch barrels. Is this even a good idea? Why, yes it is.

This epitomizes the Three Penny's niche. It's a place for Beerophiles. The bartenders (particularly Scott) are extremely enthusiastic about beer, and really love the product that they have brought in to share with their customers. It's not a cheap night out, however, with beers listed on the blackboard at prices ranging between $5 and $18. (Though I have it on good authority that you can get a PBR there for only three bucks.) But given the ultra-high alcohol levels in the brews offered, this is merely incentive to keep the consumption to a reasonable level. You can have a tab of $25 before you even think you're started (something else I have on good authority.)

Three Penny Taproom

Montpelier's night life is stronger than ever, with terrific music nightly at the Langdon Street, and the new Three Penny Tap Room. If you are in town, check it out!

Moose in the Androscoggin

Moose in the Paper
Originally uploaded by Roadduck99

Yesterday was an exciting day at my office. A moose somehow found its way to a tiny island just below the Brunswick hydroelectric dam in the Androscoggin River between Brunswick and Topsham. Word traveled quickly and soon a steady stream of onlookers made their way to the Frank J. Wood bridge and the grounds of the Fort Andross Mill complex.

This is not normally moose country.

My office mates and I, however, didn't need to go anywhere. The window by my desk overlooks this very island. Most days we find ourselves looking for eagles or osprey, or the occasional sturgeon leaping out of the water. Today we had the best seats in the house to watch as the juvenile bull moose stood around, grazed on leaves, and bedded down for an afternoon nap. When Smilin' Dave (so named after two Niagara Falls daredevils) got up for an afternoon snack, I ran downstairs to get a better photo.

My co-workers, all keen observers of nature, observe keenly.

In a case of right place/right time, one of my photos made it into the Portland Press Herald. The lean times have left the paper short handed, and nobody was available to cover this story. So reporter Dennis Hoey called an associate of mine to get the details. Since the PPH had no camera on site, he asked if Bruce had a photo he would be willing to share. Bruce said no, "but I know somebody who did get a good shot." And the rest, as they say, is my 15 minutes of fame.