I missed your question, Dilly. But at the end, you noted that you were more blessed than many other Americans. I'd have to agree. Many of us currently have healthcare insurance and are in a position to complain about increasing costs. There are tens of millions of others who have only the local hospital ER to rely on. We've all seen the news clips--the young woman with diagnosed cancer, with no money or no insurance, etc., etc.

When you say you don't trust Pelosi and company, unfortunately we all have to trust Ms. Pelosi and the other members of Congress. We've all read the statistics, and they're real. Eighty thousand Americans or so dying each year because they have no health insurance; one American filing for bankruptcy every thirty seconds because they can't pay their doctor and hospital bills, 45 million with no insurance at all. And on and on. The numbers are real.

Congresses for the last 30-40 years have put off doing anything about the impending healthcare crisis. Most agree that we're on the edge of the cliff right now. The failure of the 111th Congress to do something to reduce the spiraling cost of healthcare is the equivalent of pushing the country off the cliff.

Note that I said they must reduce the cost of healthcare. When we listen to what the elected reps say, what is written about the proposals, what the pundits say, we should all be asking the question...does this plan or program reduce the cost of healthcare in the U.S.?

Providing health insurance to 45 million people who don't have it will reduce costs in the long term. But in the short term it will have to be paid for. Same with improved diagnostic information technology, preventive care or wellness programs, and so on. I implore anyone who reads this to thoughtfully consider whether what our Congress proposes and passes will really "bend the cost curve". If whatever reforms that are passed don't do that, it's simply another failure of our politicians to do the right thing.

But, answering a question that I'm not sure you asked, Dilly, we're stuck with Pelosi, Reid, Grassley, McConnell, Rangel, Boehner, etc. as the ones who will have to craft the legislation to correct this critical problem. As much as we don't trust them, we're stuck with them. They're the ones who were elected to represent us. They'e the ones who will have to solve the problem.

Remember, as I've said in this forum many times before--if we don't like what's going on in Washington, we can change the entire House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate in November, 2010--only a year or so from now. All we need to do to get rid of all those that we have been so critical of is to not vote for anyone who is currently a member of Congress. It's really a pretty simple solution.

In the meantime all we can hope and pray for is that the 111th Congress finally does the right thing, not just the thing that they think will get them re-elected, or even worse the thing that the special interests paid them to do. Remember the key question: will this reduce the cost of healthcare in the U.S.?