Reforming Health Care Reform

At this moment the GOP has delayed a vote in the Senate on their newest form of health care reform. Presumably because they don't have enough votes within the Republican Party to pass the bill. This is not unlike when the Republicans in the House delayed a vote on their version of health care reform. I find this troubling. Not because I like either health care reform bill, because I don't. Nor do I find it troubling because I like the American Health care Act- i.e. Obamacare- because I don't. What I find troubling is that health care has become so politicized that common ground seems non-existent. Furthermore, it seems as though the hardest part about health care reform is that there are too many powerful entities involved that aren't the people who would benefit the most from quality health care; the average American and the patients themselves.

According to an article in Forbes Magazine (hardly a bastion of Liberal thought) Americans spend over $3 trillion a year on health care!!!! This is astounding. This certainly is not beneficial for the average Working Joe American and it definitely is not beneficial to the average patient. However, for insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and most hospitals, this is fantastic! They are in the business to make money. The bottom line is the top line for these industries. Now, far-be-it for me to question making money, nor begrudge profits. I am a Capitalist. I believe in the Free-Market system and Capitalism. However, I also believe that there are instances when other concerns come before profit. Education for me is obviously one of these instances. As is public and national protection. And so is health care. I firmly believe that people come before profits. So, now you are thinking, "Ah-Ha! You want socialized medicine! You want health care on demand! I knew you were a Bernie-Lover all along! You Commie! You should go hang out with your Bolshevik friends!" (although it seems as though, somehow it's okay to be real cozy with the Russians now. But that's a different story) Actually.......I don't want nor do I believe in government run health care, but I do believe I have a way to reform health care for the benefit of Americans.

First let me explain why I don't want government run health care, or socialized medicine. Simply put I have very little faith in the government (ours or any other) to operate ANYTHING efficiently. Quick, name me something that the government is in charge of that is well run.......Thank you. See, you couldn't name one thing. Truly the only the government runs with any degree of efficiency is the military and if you talk with any soldier that efficiency is nominal at best. Now don't get me wrong, as little faith as I have in the government, I do believe there are some areas that the government should run simply because these services are too essential to our society as a whole to be operated by For-Profit enterprises. These services are, again, education, police, fire, and military. Furthermore, I wholeheartedly agree with Thomas Jefferson "A government big enough to give you everything you want, is a government big enough to take away everything you have." I also do not want to pay crippling taxes. I'm not a fan of taxes (who is?), but I'm not a crazy No-Taxes at all person either. I'm fine paying taxes for needed services such as roads, police, fire, education, and other essential civic needs. I do not, however, want to pay 50%+ in taxes which is what would happen if we had socialized health care.

So, what is my solution? Make health care non-profit. Take the profit motive out of health care. You would still be paying for health care so the government would not  but that would be all that you are paying for- just the health care, not the profit margin. Medical insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and hospitals need to begin placing the care of patients and their health care above the interests of profits and their investors. Profit making is a huge component in the high cost of health care. If profit margins begin to decrease, companies will find ways to begin to prop up that profit margin, this is Economics 101. Usually this prop up will somehow, someway involve less customer service and care. In almost all instances I'm fine with this concept. Because I can take my business elsewhere. I can go somewhere else where the customer service is better, where the prices are cheaper, where the care is more caring. However, this is not the case with health care. If you are experiencing a health crisis, you really are not concerned with which hospital is cheaper or has better patient care. You just want help and want it now! Finding better or cheaper insurance, especially via an employer is nothing short of a herculean feat. Unless you live near the Mexican or the Canadian boarder, getting reasonably priced prescriptions is near impossible unless you have a good relationship with the guy who hangs out in the '86 T-Top Camero in the Dollar Store parking lot, I'm pretty sure that guy has more pharmaceuticals for sale than Walgreens.  It is absolutely wrong that companies and hospitals see the pain and misery of others as a way to enrich themselves and their investors. I was raised not to take joy in or advantage of those who were in need. I firmly believe that removing the profit motive from health care would solve many of our issues with health care.

This is not some form of socialized medicine in a disguise either. People would still have to pay for their health care, just at a reduced, sane rate. There would not be any government money being funneled to the health care industries to subsidize their bottom line. All money being spent, aside from Medicaid and Medicare (which is a whole different issue in this current mess), would come from the individual consumer. I understand the economic realities and problems with "health care on demand" or socialized medicine. "Free" can only take place when there is an abundant or endless source of something. Dirt is free (usually), regular everyday rocks are free, air is free, thought and opinions are free. These things these things are abundant. There are more of these things than we know what to do with. Although, I'm sure if the government could figure out a way, they'd tax all those things as well. However, there are simply not enough doctors, or hospitals or enough medicine for everyone. One of the roles that prices play in an economy is to help ensure that there is enough of a good for those who really want or need that good when that product is really wanted or needed. If goods were free or artificially cheap, then there would not be enough goods for people who would really want or need that product. Either because there just simply is not enough of that product or because there would be those who would take advantage of the situation and consume more than they really need. So, making health care non-profit as opposed to "free" would 1) recognize that health care is not abundant enough for it to be available upon demand, keeping it readily available for those who truly want or need it when they want or need it and 2) lower the cost of the services to a level that would allow the vast majority of citizens to afford health care without destroying them economically.

Is this making health care non-profit a crazy idea? Maybe. But then again, what we have going on in Washington D.C. right now around health care is not exactly sane or inspiring. Has this ever been done before? I don't think so but then again, if we only limited ourselves to doing things that had been done before we would still be living in caves and only getting fire when lightening struck. It's certainly not foolproof, but no plan or idea is ever going to be perfect. But
I think this is worth a shot. Any true reform will have to involve our elected officials- on BOTH sides of the isle- to tell the insurance and pharmaceutical lobbies that they are no longer beholden to them and their bottom lines but that are beholden to the people who hired them and who can fire them- the voters. And that is the way to truly return the government to the people and to "Make America Great...Still".

The Glass Award and the Chrystal Ball

I am currently sitting alone in my hotel room in Breckenridge reflecting back on the past several months for the Jefferson County School District as well as the upcoming months for our district. Just as the near past was filled with frustration, trepidation, an fear as well as hope, happiness and elation; the coming months promise much of the same.

November 9, 2016
On the morning of November 9, 2016 we all entered our schools very bewildered and disappointed in the outcome of the previous night. Our community voted against the same district they had helped save one year prior. We were scared, worried, defeated, angry and confused all at once.
     How could this have happened?
     What if I had just walked one more day? Would that have made a difference?
     Where do we go from here?
     What will happen to the crumbling infrastructure?
     How can we continue to serve and provide the best and highest quality education that our students            deserve?
     Are we doomed to becoming a "Farm District" for the rest of the Denver area because we can't be
            competitive in teacher compensation?

All of these questions, thoughts and concerns, among others, were rolling around in our minds that morning. I remember it well. The depression was palatable and the concern hung on us like a wet blanket.

A Win
Our thoughts quickly turned to negotiations. We were told, no promised, that if the Mill and Bond failed not to expect a raise of any type. Steps and Levels were the best we could hope for, and even that was tenuous. The district offered a measly, insulting one time stipend of a couple hundred dollars stating that was the best they could do if they were going to honor steps and levels. The negotiations team persisted until the district found enough money to give everyone a 2% raise. A victory to be sure. Perhaps this would turn out alright after all.

The Glass Award
Our attention then turned to Dan McMinimee. Would his contract be renewed? He certainly had not done a bad job as our superintendent, but it hadn't been all that great either. And the process surrounding his hire seemed a little grimy and unseemly. The BOE decided that it would not renew his contract and the search for another Superintendent began anew. We waited with baited breath to see who the new Superintendent would be. We were assured that this would be a much more transparent process than the last time we traveled this path. Suddenly, one name emerged: Dr. Jason Glass, Superintendent of Eagle County School District. Many of us, myself included, were ecstatic! Can this be true? Was this really happening? The answer to both was yes. I had often read his articles in the Vail newspaper and thought 'Why can't we get a leader like that?' Well, now we had one. The very same one whose opinions I had long valued and been inspired by.

The detractors were quick to point out that there was a lot of consternation surrounding the hire of Dan McMinimee and the hiring of Dr. Glass was very similar. On the surface, yes, both were similar. Both were not known until the very end and in both instances, there was only one lone candidate as opposed to several from which to choose. However, this is where the similarities ended. Dr. Glass was the director of Education for the ENTIRE state of Iowa. He had been the head of the Human Resources department in Eagle County. He had been a successful Superintendent. He had been appointed by the President of the United States (Barrack Obama) to serve on a national education board. Dr. Glass had earned his Doctorate. Now I am not one impressed by degrees, nor do I believe that degrees automatically make you more capable than someone without a degree. However, Dr. Glass had the degree AND the success to earn him the right to be called "Dr. Glass". Dan McMinimee served as a principal and was the Assistant Superintendent in Douglas County and his greatest claim to fame was breaking the teachers union as well as being part of the team that began the great demise of the once mighty Douglas County School District. Mr. McMinimee's credentials pale in comparison.

However, I do want to pump the breaks on the excitement over the hiring of Dr. Glass. Teachers should not believe that he will be our best friend. That we will get everything we want because we now have someone like Dr. Glass in the Superintendent's office. He was not hired to be the teacher's best friend, he was not chosen to be uber-teacher friendly. He is not our lap dog and we should not expect him to be so. That expectation would be unfair to Dr. Glass and unfair to our district. He was hired to do what's right and what he believes is in the best interest for the 86,000 students in our district. He was hired to be our students best friend. Granted, often times what is in the students best interest is often in our best interest as well, but not always. We have to understand that there will be times that we, as teachers, will be disappointed in Dr. Glass. There will be times that we will be frustrated by his decisions. Indeed, Dr. Cindy Stevenson and teachers were often at odds on a number of issues. But at the end of the day, we understood, as did Dr. Stevenson, that we both wanted the best for this district and its students. I believe it is a fair statement to say that the same cannot be said for the decisions coming out of the Administration Building the past several years. Dr. Glass, I wholeheartedly believe, will remedy that problem. We may not always like the decisions, but we will believe that he has the students best interests at heart. I cannot wait to see what he can do for our district.

November 7, 2017
This is why I am sitting by my self in a hotel room in Breckenridge tonight. I am here training for the upcoming elections this November. This November is a monumental election for the future of the Jefferson County School District. Remember that Recall we won in 2015? Well, those same seats are up for election this November. All three of them. To say that AFP, the Koch brothers and the Independence Institute were upset with that loss would be a monstrous understatement. It was devastating for them. And what's more is that they have been planning, scheming, and plotting for the past two years to reclaim those seats. I am here to learn all I can about keeping that from happening. In fact there are several teachers in JCEA who have been working since February to keep that horror from taking place. In American politics if you want until August/September to work on elections, you've already lost before one ballot has been cast. Interestingly enough, in England campaigns may ONLY take place in the 42 days BEFORE the election. Perhaps we would be wise to learn a few things from the Brits???? We will be working throughout this summer planning how to win this November.

This is my ask to you. If, you are as excited as am I to see what Dr. Glass can do for this district, then we must first do something for Dr. Glass. We must ensure that a pro-public education board majority is returned to the school board. Thankfully, Ron Mitchell, Brad Rupert and Susan Harmon are running for re-election. But in order to get them re-elected you must help. Sure yard signs are satisfying and make you feel like you've done your part, but sadly, if that's all you do you have not done anything. We need you walk, knock and talk to the community about why it's important to the future of JeffCo schools and the community it serves for Mitchell, Rupert and Harmon to be returned to the board room. If we lose the board majority, than any work the Dr. Glass could have done for this district and its students will be severely hamstrung. Dr. Glass needs us to help him so he can help us.

The "Other Side" is ready and rarin' to go. They want to win and have the district lose. I'm ready to go and win, are you? Dr. Glass needs you. Your colleagues need you. Your students need you. Don't let them down.