Common Sense in Health Care Debate...at least do no harm!

As the debate over health care and the changes needing to be enacted in Wisconsin continues, we need to be ever mindful that wise people in other states have already made their share of mistakes.

Maine thought that "Dirigo" would cover 130,000 citizens in the first year. That was nearly three years ago. There are some 18,000 citizens covered. Dirigo was to be the vehicle that assured universal coverage.

Connecticut's governor proposed a magic cure-all program. The program wasn't proposed with any cost numbers, but those were developed later. It seems that the Connecticut program might accomplish its goal...but the cost would be triple that of Connecticut's state budget annually.

Illinois's governor has proposed a plan. It threatens to tax employers out of business. Even the Reverend Jesse Jackson has seen the light and stated that health care coverage at the cost of employment is not at all a good trade for the citizens of Illinois.

All this reminds me of what I'd always thought was a part of the physician's oath. There is an erroneous attribution to Hippocrates having to do with the phrase, "first, do no harm." He did author a similar plea, but did so in his Epidemics, Bk. I, Sect. XI. One translation reads: "Declare the past, diagnose the present, foretell the future; practice these acts. As to diseases, make a habit of two things — to help, or at least to do no harm." (Emphasis added)

It is imperative that we do no harm as we settle on the set of initiatives required to set our Wisconsin health care community on the right path for the future as we see that today. Let us incorporate the wisdom of Hippocrates in the process.