The United States is the only wealthy, industrialized country that does not ensure that all of its citizens have healthcare coverage.

Insuring America's Health: Principles and Recommendations, Institute of Medicine at the National Academies of Science, January 14, 2004, last accessed Tuesday, February 2, 2010"The debate over health care reform in the United States centers on questions about whether there is a fundamental right to health care, on who should have access to health care and under what circumstances, on the quality achieved for the high sums spent, the sustainability of expenditures that have been rising faster than the level of general inflation and the growth in the economy, the role of the federal government in bringing about such change, and concerns over unfunded liabilities."

"Most personal bankruptcy in the United States is caused at least partly by medical debt^[1][2] which is almost unknown in other countries in the developed world.^[3][4]The United States spends a greater portion of total yearly income in the nation on health care than any United Nations member state except for East Timor (Timor-Leste),^[5] although the actual use of health care services in the U.S., by most measures of health services use, is below the median among the world's developed countries."^[6]

Wikipedia—"Health Care Reform in the United States"

The healthcare debate continues.... Many of the healthcare reform ideas have been proposed and debated, ad nauseam with nothing to show for it.  Congress has failed to act time after time and president after president has failed to deliver.  It's getting old.

Here's a brief history of non-events, promised in various 'State of the Union' addresses:

George W. Bush in 2005:

“To make our economy stronger and more productive, we must make health care more affordable and give families access to good coverage....I ask Congress to move forward on a comprehensive health care agenda, with tax credits to help low-income workers buy insurance, a community health center in every poor county, improved information technology to prevent medical error and needless costs, association health plans for small businesses and their employees, expanded health savings accounts, and medical liability reform that will reduce health care costs and make sure patients have the doctors and care they need.”

Bill Clinton in 1993:

“All of our efforts to strengthen the economy will fail unless we take bold steps to reform our health care system....The American people expect us to deal with health care. And we must deal with it now.”

Richard M. Nixon in 1974:

“The time is at hand this year to bring comprehensive, high-quality health care within the reach of every American. I shall propose a sweeping new program that will assure comprehensive health insurance protection to millions of Americans who cannot now obtain it or afford it.”

Harry S. Truman in 1949:

“We need — and we must have without further delay — a system of prepaid medical insurance which will enable every American to afford good medical care.”

Barak Obama last week in his address said that after generations of failure to come to closure on legislation, Congress is closer than ever to give us a National health plan and he challenged the Centrists: “'If anyone from either party has a better approach that will bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors and stop insurance company abuses, let me know.'"

"But the debate has raged for so long that there was not much new for Mr. Obama to contemplate."

David Herszenhorn. "A Deep Divide Separated by Plenty of Common Ground" Prescriptions, NY Times; posted Jan. 31, 2010

My response and suggestion: consider 'Single Payer' — Public option wouldn't work; it has no strength in numbers for the negotiators.  Specifically, it will not allow the insurers to negotiate lower prices from hospitals, doctors, durable medical equipment vendors, etc.  Nor will it allow doctors, incentives based upon their good efforts.

Here are the mechanics of creating such an incentive program: 

1. You will need population data such as a single payer system can afford.
2. Translate those data into comparable information: Assimilate data from all relevant settings, develop a longitudinal picture of care and acuity-adjust it.  The best construct for these purposes is "episodes of care." It can tell you which processes give the best outcomes.
3. Next comes 'comparative effectiveness analysis' fieldwork.  It helps you figure out what works; what doesn't.  You evaluate the contribution of those who participate in care processes. Given the level of illness, are their collective outcomes better?  (Note: this type of analysis necessitates also controlling for things that are beyond the command of those participating in the healthcare equation such as the patient's employment status, competing priorities in their lives, generally, the vicissitudes of life). 
4. With this information, you can then align the incentives so that patient, practitioner and facility have the same objective—the right care at the right time and place and that there are no incentives for delaying care—bureaucratic hurdles, for example; no incentives for over utilizing—for instance, unnecessary antibiotics or blind alley testing; no incentives for under utilizing—such as, delayed physical therapy, mental health care, etc.).  With incentives aligned, everyone's on the same page with a single goal of efficient, effective and accessible care.

I understand that President Obama wants accountability in "No Child Left Behind" [See "Playing to Learn" comment, below].  He wants it to move from paying based upon volume to paying for performance—Sound familiar?

Why reinvent the wheel?

Take a minute—please identify the source of this recommendation: (The challenge was submitted by a National HMO Medical Director):

1. Group practice of medicine, preferably around a hospital. 
2. More effective public health and preventive services available to the entire population based on its needs. 
3. Group-based payment for health services structured through the use of insurance or taxation to share health care costs broadly across people and time. 
4. Enhanced coordination between medical and community services; and 
5. Make improvements in medical education to strengthen the social content of curriculum and expand the supply of general practitioners, as contrasted with specialists.

"Report of the Committee on the Costs of Medical Care" - Summary of Recommendations."—1932.