PROGRESS – AT 8:36 A.M. ET:  I want once again to thank the many readers who've asked me about my medical situation, and also asked me to write about my adventure.

Well, I'm not going to do that.  I've never particularly admired people who, if you ask, "How are you?" give their entire medical histories, and provide X-rays.  We've all met them.  I have a rule at my house:  You can have any disease you wish, but please don't talk about it.

For those just joining us, I had shoulder surgery a month ago today.  To be brief, things are coming along, some activity is returning, and I can start driving a bit this week, pitting me against a lot of teenaged girls in Corvettes.  But it's more important to think of people who are seriously ill, including one of our readers who had a near-death experience during this time.  And it's important to think of our men and women in the military, whose medical situation dwarfs mine.  That, by the way, includes those injured in training accidents, something we too often forget.  Military service is hazardous by nature.

However, having had this experience, I was reminded of the stakes involved in Obamacare.  I was lucky to have choices.  And I was lucky that my surgeon also had a choice of medical teams with which to work.  Physical therapy is critical to my recovery, and I was given a list of perhaps 20 physical therapy centers from which to choose.   By asking for recommendations, I found the one best suited to my needs.  Only in a largely private system, where facilities compete with each other for patient loyalty, is that possible, and I fear we may well lose that advantage if the socialized medicine battalions have their way.

I'm not naive enough to believe that all government service is poor and all private service wonderful.  Only a fool believes anything that simplistic.  But the sheer variety and flexibility of our system is at the core of its excellence. 

I'm insured with two separate plans, one of which is private, the other being Medicare.  I'm happy to report that my experience with Medicare has been good, and the people we speak with when we have questions have been competent and courteous.  (We give credit here where it's due.)  But the private plan has the need to compete, and there is an extra edge.  That doesn't mean all private plans are wonderful or fair.  They are not, and reform is clearly needed.  But I dread thinking of what life would be like with only one system, with no choice, and no one to whom to appeal.

One of the gimmicks socialists push is "simplicity."  Why, the single payer system is so "simple."  Don't buy it.  Simplicity is also the basis for the appeal of dictatorships.  Why think when others are willing to do it for you?  Sometimes the complexity, even the noise, of a competitive system serves us far better in the end.  Don't be afraid of a little messiness.

The first "benefits" of Obamacare kick in this month.  The senator who guided the program through his committee in the Senate admitted last week that he'd never read the bill.  I'm apprehensive about what's in store for us, which makes this midterm election even more important.  Take it from a guy whose right arm is in a sling:  This election affects all of us personally.

August 30, 2010