The health reform protests miss the point

The protests against the Democrats' health care reform proposals appear to be set up by the Republican Party and their water-carriers on the radio talk show circuit. But let's put that aside and discuss whether the current system works for most Americans.

The problems in the system are many, including not covering all Americans, costing too much for coverage, and gouging those with pre-existing conditions.

If everyone were covered, the entire system would be less expensive. Currently those without coverage use the hospital emergency room or routine health matters because they will be seen by a doctor, even if they have to wait for hours. In addition, delaying routine matters makes them much more expensive to treat if their maladies turn into actually emergencies. We all pay for this more expensive system through our health insurance premiums and increased taxes on public-run hospitals.

If you actually get sick and have a pre-existing condition, it will cost a fortune to cover you because of the way insurance companies rate you. You are put into a more expensive pool if you buy insurance individually and that only encourages people to go without insurance. We must do away with pre-exiting conditions out of fairness to all.

The protesters seem to think the current system works. They must not have a pre-exsting condition or are on Medicare.