You Make the Call
I've been trying to write this post for some time now and can't seem to get it together. So, I think I'm just going to throw some stuff out there and see if anybody gets the point.
Case 1.) I came across a story about 14 year old Laura Montero who was taking a cruise on the Dawn Princess off the coast of Baja California. Unfortunately Miss Montero fell ill during the cruise and required emergency surgery. Hundreds of miles from the nearest hospital facility, the captain of the cruise ship sent a distress call to the Coast Guard in hopes of getting the girl medical treatment.
The nuclear aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, about 500 miles away from the Dawn Princess at the time, responded by steaming toward the cruise ship during the night and then sending a helicopter to evacuate the patient. Miss Montero was removed from the cruise ship, flown to the USS Ronald Reagan and underwent emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix. She is doing fine.
Case 2.) Nataline Sarkisyan died Thursday night at 6 p.m. at the UCLA Medical center after Cigna, her health care insurer, denied coverage for a liver transplant her doctors said she needed. Shortly after protesters picketed the offices of Cigna, the insurer changed their position and approved the transplant. Unfortunately it was too late. Sarkisyan died that day. I looked all over the internet and haven't been able to find one occasion where a senator or representative stepped up and commented on the case.
Case 3.) The NFL had scheduled the New England Patriots versus the New York Giants game for this coming Saturday night to be broadcast on the NFL Network, a channel available via cable and satellite only. Last week Senators Patrick Leahy and Arlen Specter wrote a letter to Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner, threatening to re-evaluate the league's anti-trust exemption unless consideration was made to allow more fans access to the game. Apparently only 40% of TV viewers have access to the NFL Network. The NFL has now decided to broadcast the game via NBC and CBS as well. (Several years ago, before satellite television reached its currently immense number of subscribers, the NFL was a driving force behind the Satellite Viewers Act passed by Congress. This act prohibited viewers from receiving ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox networks via satellite if they were able to receive local network affiliates using a rooftop antennae [the idea here was to force the football fan to support the local football market. Thus, if you were a Tampa Bay fan living in Seattle you were screwed]. The quality of the signal had to be considered acceptable by the local affiliates who were the only ones that could allow the viewer an exemption. The affiliate would send someone to your home and measure the signal. If it was "acceptable" the viewer would not be allowed access to the satellite feed AND was required to pay for the technician's service.)
In case #1 our government provided exactly the services it should. I have no idea how much all that cost and don't care. The patient lived because of the efforts made by the people involved. When it was all said and done, we all get a great, big warm and fuzzy from it. Nobody in their right mind would dare say they should have let her go untreated because it costs too much to treat her the way they did. After all, it was "taxpayer" money.
In case #2, the insurer decided it cost too much to treat Nataline Sarkisyan and there was a public uproar. The people that were complaining about the lack of action were the same ones that pay the insurance premiums. If the insurer has too many claims they just raise our rates like they do every year. If you ask the average person on the street, I'll go out on a limb and say they would have approved the liver transplant. Once again, nobody in their right mind would dare say they should have let her go untreated because it cost too much. Ah, but our illustrious politicians can't speak up on this one because Cigna is a publicly held company and has lots of shareholders and lobbyists that don't want the bad press driving the stock prices down. There are also a lot of voters that wouldn't like hearing a Congressman side with the big insurance company. So wisely, the politicians haven't touched this with a ten foot pole.
In case #3, the NFL is a privately held entity. The only ones that get their feelings (and pocket books) hurt are a small group of extremely wealthy businessmen. The vast majority of the public will say the evil NFL shouldn't be allowed to have a monopoly (even though Congress approved it...just go ask the owners in the now-defunct USFL ). Lots more votes to lose siding with the NFL, so our spineless wonders in Washington are quick to step up and condemn the bad old NFL. It's probably safe to say that no one will die if they don't get to see the game.
I think the bottom line is this: Politicians live by that old saying...Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked up in jet engines.
Case 1.) I came across a story about 14 year old Laura Montero who was taking a cruise on the Dawn Princess off the coast of Baja California. Unfortunately Miss Montero fell ill during the cruise and required emergency surgery. Hundreds of miles from the nearest hospital facility, the captain of the cruise ship sent a distress call to the Coast Guard in hopes of getting the girl medical treatment.
The nuclear aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, about 500 miles away from the Dawn Princess at the time, responded by steaming toward the cruise ship during the night and then sending a helicopter to evacuate the patient. Miss Montero was removed from the cruise ship, flown to the USS Ronald Reagan and underwent emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix. She is doing fine.
Case 2.) Nataline Sarkisyan died Thursday night at 6 p.m. at the UCLA Medical center after Cigna, her health care insurer, denied coverage for a liver transplant her doctors said she needed. Shortly after protesters picketed the offices of Cigna, the insurer changed their position and approved the transplant. Unfortunately it was too late. Sarkisyan died that day. I looked all over the internet and haven't been able to find one occasion where a senator or representative stepped up and commented on the case.
Case 3.) The NFL had scheduled the New England Patriots versus the New York Giants game for this coming Saturday night to be broadcast on the NFL Network, a channel available via cable and satellite only. Last week Senators Patrick Leahy and Arlen Specter wrote a letter to Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner, threatening to re-evaluate the league's anti-trust exemption unless consideration was made to allow more fans access to the game. Apparently only 40% of TV viewers have access to the NFL Network. The NFL has now decided to broadcast the game via NBC and CBS as well. (Several years ago, before satellite television reached its currently immense number of subscribers, the NFL was a driving force behind the Satellite Viewers Act passed by Congress. This act prohibited viewers from receiving ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox networks via satellite if they were able to receive local network affiliates using a rooftop antennae [the idea here was to force the football fan to support the local football market. Thus, if you were a Tampa Bay fan living in Seattle you were screwed]. The quality of the signal had to be considered acceptable by the local affiliates who were the only ones that could allow the viewer an exemption. The affiliate would send someone to your home and measure the signal. If it was "acceptable" the viewer would not be allowed access to the satellite feed AND was required to pay for the technician's service.)
In case #1 our government provided exactly the services it should. I have no idea how much all that cost and don't care. The patient lived because of the efforts made by the people involved. When it was all said and done, we all get a great, big warm and fuzzy from it. Nobody in their right mind would dare say they should have let her go untreated because it costs too much to treat her the way they did. After all, it was "taxpayer" money.
In case #2, the insurer decided it cost too much to treat Nataline Sarkisyan and there was a public uproar. The people that were complaining about the lack of action were the same ones that pay the insurance premiums. If the insurer has too many claims they just raise our rates like they do every year. If you ask the average person on the street, I'll go out on a limb and say they would have approved the liver transplant. Once again, nobody in their right mind would dare say they should have let her go untreated because it cost too much. Ah, but our illustrious politicians can't speak up on this one because Cigna is a publicly held company and has lots of shareholders and lobbyists that don't want the bad press driving the stock prices down. There are also a lot of voters that wouldn't like hearing a Congressman side with the big insurance company. So wisely, the politicians haven't touched this with a ten foot pole.
In case #3, the NFL is a privately held entity. The only ones that get their feelings (and pocket books) hurt are a small group of extremely wealthy businessmen. The vast majority of the public will say the evil NFL shouldn't be allowed to have a monopoly (even though Congress approved it...just go ask the owners in the now-defunct USFL ). Lots more votes to lose siding with the NFL, so our spineless wonders in Washington are quick to step up and condemn the bad old NFL. It's probably safe to say that no one will die if they don't get to see the game.
I think the bottom line is this: Politicians live by that old saying...Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked up in jet engines.
Comments