THE ISSUE
U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam issued his Five Principles for Health Care Reform last week in response to a speech by President Obama.

OUR VIEW
As part of an honest national dialogue, we must flesh out the challenges and concerns before moving forward on this costly new program.

SPEAK UP
What reforms are needed in our health care system? Tell us what you think of this by leaving a comment below. You can also e-mail your comment here. Or leave a voice message at (630) 368-8882.

U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam, R-6th District, of Wheaton made the media rounds last week responding to President Obama’s speech on health care reform.

Roskam is a member of the U.S. House’s Ways and Means Committee, which will take up Obama’s proposal for reforming the nation’s health system. In this position, Roskam has taken the initiative in helping to shape the debate, and he makes some valid points. Roskam issued his Five Principles for Health Care Reform:

• Enhance the doctor-patient relationship (don’t allow government or insurance bureaucrats to interfere).

• Reduce skyrocketing costs (tackle waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare; implement tort reform; and promote health information technology).

• Preserve medical innovation (don’t let government bureaucrats stifle medical ingenuity).

• Ensure every American can receive health insurance (determine how many Americans truly don’t qualify for health care and identify ways to resolve this).

• Allow passage of patient-right-to-know legislation (ensure transparency on the part of health care providers).

Some of his principles may be a tad vague, but he raises the right questions we all need to ask. There are a few things to keep in mind about the feasibility of enacting universal health care.

Aside from the institutional waste, fraud and abuse in the health industry, costs have escalated because we have an aversion to discomfort. Every ache we suffer is examined (which costs money) and treated (which costs money). There are medications for every possible condition we could have, and developing these is expensive.

Because virtually every condition we could have is treated, we live much longer than we used to. Longer lives mean more injuries and illnesses to deal with, and this adds to the expenses.

We also expect our medical professionals to be experts, and litigation against these individuals has grown out of control. More litigation means more liability insurance is needed for health professionals, and this balloons costs.

No government program is going to eliminate all the problems in health care. Roskam has raised some valid issues about reform measures, and we must proceed cautiously.