American health care: Resetting priorities

Let's face it. Health care is complicated and expensive.

Once the American people learned how much, they started becoming more interested in small steps in improvement rather than a massive change that hasn't been adequately examined.

That is the innate common sense of the American people.

This is reflected in a recent scientific poll by the Pew Center for the People and the Press.

The percentage rating health care a top priority is lower now (59 percent) than in 2008 (69 percent).

The top priorities are the economy and jobs, followed by terrorism, Social Security, education, Medicare and deficit reduction. Then comes health care.

Priorities with a bullet are reducing the budget deficit, up 7 percentage points since last year. In fact, reducing the budget deficit has almost no partisan differences.

And if the Democrats want to turn to global warning, be warned that Americans have dropped their interest in energy problems significantly - down 11 percentage points from 60 to 49 in one year.

For instance, if dealing with global warming is going to raise electric rates, then Americans will need to be convinced.

If we can create a domestic clean energy industry that will create jobs, protect us against oil shocks from foreign dictators and help clean the environment, then the investment will be worth it - and help deal with global warming, too.

Attacking fraud

So if President Barack Obama is wise, he will listen to the people and start over on health care reform.

The health care plans forged by Democratic Party leaders in the House and Senate put cost control too low on the priority list.

Yet, it is widely agreed that there is great fraud and waste in the health care system. Responsible leaders would go after those savings first and use them to expand access and services.

That is the common-sense proposal from Florida's U.S. Sen. George LeMieux. He has proposed a series of reforms that would attack fraud, which is a way of life in South Florida.

LeMieux has called Southeast Florida the "health care fraud capital of the world."

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