I'm a registered nurse, I've worked on hospital floors, in emergency rooms, in home health--I tell you this so you know I have seen first hand how the health provider system works in this country. I just read something a fellow blogger wrote that is vitriolic about Obama and the proposed health care reforms, and I can tell you he ain't got a clue about real life.

I have worked in an ER at a private hospital where a woman in labor, without insurance, showed up at the front door of the ER, was examined by the MD, and seeing as how he thought she had time to make it to the county hospital, her husband was told to get her there as fast as possible. She made it to the car just as an ambulance showed up. An EMT delivered the baby in the back seat of the car and she and the baby were transported to the county hosp. Private hospitals don't want to be stuck with the expense of all that.

I've seen a hard working man who had no insurance because he was rejected by insurance companies for a pre existing heart condition, come to the ER with chest pain. He had to come up with $800.00 up front before he could be admitted to the hospital. But that night and every night young black guys came in after being in altercations where they were shot or stabbed, and got state of the art treatment free. Why? They had Medicaid.

Young gals black and white, totin' babies on their hip get Medicaid and food stamps and dental care--but a hard working self employed man has to pay up front before he can be admitted for life saving treatment. Get the picture? There's something badly askew in that.

I could tell you a 1,000 examples of screwed up, cumbersome, boogey man stories about health care in the US. So Obama may not have it right. So the whole reform may be a horrible boon-doggle. But reform should have been tackled decades ago, the problems addressed, and insurance companies brought to heel. Everyone is gonna scream at something that pinches them personally, that they won't like about reform, but I tell you universal health care is not only an idea whose time has come, but is way past due.

susil