Context

It's been one year since either Ian or I have posted on this blog. One year of sitting back and reading the writings of others and learning and absorbing and contemplating. But now I'm itching to comment again. And it's the new health care bill that has prompted my return to the blogging world.

I've actually been wanting to express my observations for a number of months, but...quite honestly...have been a little afraid to. I have dear friends who completely disagree with my political views. As long as we stay away from politics, things can stay happy. I guess, ultimately, there are more important things to agree on that we don't have to worry about political views. And I'm also afraid because I am an academic. We professors are supposed to be evidence-based in our pronouncements. And I just don't have the time or energy to do as complete a review of the evidence as I would prefer before publishing my opinions.

But the passage of this health care bill has become so important to me. It has stirred together my interest in politics with my work world. So the focus of my new hobby has impacted my workplace.

At any rate, for the few people who indicated they might be interested in my opinions on the health care process, I figured I should start with context. That way anything I write can be interpreted and applied more appropriately based on my perspective.

My political context:
-Born to immigrant parents who started out poor and voted Democrat. Said immigrant parents experienced the American dream, achieving financial success and switched to Republican. Said upper middle class parents started thinking about the influence of society on personal values (and vice versa) and became social conservatives.
-Raised in Orange County, the anomalous center of Republican activity in Blue state California. Influenced heavily by an incredibly diverse (ethnically and socioeconomically) pool of friends in college. Developed a concern for the poor. Started eschewing my knee-jerk, raised-to-be-Republican ways.
-Went to dental school in Boston. Harvard, no less. 'Nuff said. Heard only the New England context during the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings. Started thinking that Republicans were nasty people. Increased the concern for the poor to a commitment to care for and live among the poor. Started preferring Democrat policies regarding the poor. Might have voted Democrat if the election cycles had worked out differently.
-Returned to LA politically confused and therefore, apathetic.
-Finished professional training and got a job. Tripled income in one year. Enlisted the services of an accountant. Started wondering where my income was going and whether it was being used effectively.
-Woke up on 9/11. Started wondering what on earth could make people in other nations want to hurt us. Was not convinced that it was because we are an imperialist nation. Developed an opinion that it was/is more about fundamental Islamic terror than American arrogance. Became very patriotic.
-Started teaching dental students. Started encountering some entitled, lazy dental students. Started wondering what they were learning in college and in life that made them express such entitlement. Became slightly disenchanted with the liberal (lefist?) mindset that seems to pervade the University.
-Started encountering international dental students - those who are already dentists in other countries who want US degrees to practice in the US. Heard story after story of struggle and hard work and persecution and perseverance...all accompanied by an incredible admiration for the American dream, the American promise, the American way. Freedom, liberty, opportunity, democracy..... Started loving this incredibly flawed, but amazing country.
-Started realizing that 90% of work and social environment was Democrat. Started listening to conservative talk radio and reading conservative blogs to learn. Ooops. Revealed my hand.
-Yep. I am a conservative. I don't like to call myself Republican, because, quite frankly, the politicians with that affiliation don't always perform that admirably. I've run the gamut and am now conservative because I think that it is people, not government, who have the greatest potential to perform acts of beauty, creativity, and intelligence. I think government sometimes gets in the way of people.

My healthcare context:
-Dual-trained as a Pediatric Dentist and an Orthodontist
-Spent most of professional training mainly treating low income individuals (who else goes to a dental school for 3 hour appointments?)
-Practiced in a huge HMO type practice
-Did not purchase my own health insurance (I thought I was healthy). Paid for all medical expenses out of pocket.
-Joined faculty at dental school. Received a great benefits package including health insurance.
-Enrolled in an HMO for my own insurance
-Switched to a PPO
-Decided on a health care plan with a Health Care Savings Account to take more responsibility for my own health care decisions.
-Started practicing in a fee-for-service, indemnity, high-end practice with a highly educated patient population.
-Started teaching in a low income, self-pay, and publicly assisted clinic with a minimally educated patient population.
-Worked for and with people who create public policy in oral health and focus on access to care.
-Stopped preferring Democrat policies regarding the poor.
-I've run the gamut in my experience as a patient and a provider and am not convinced that government options are the best by any stretch.

In a nutshell, I prefer conservative solutions. I think health care needs reforming, but not this way. I do see a role for government, but not as far-reaching as this bill seems to indicate.

So that's my context. Hopefully it helps as a framework for posts to come.