AMA on National Health Plan

Boy, I wish I were President. If I were President, I would be able to get the best medical treatment by the best doctors and I wouldn’t have to worry one single jot about the cost of the expensive tests. I wouldn’t have to think and fret and phone the insurance company to see if unpronounceable procedures were covered or bat an eye about meeting my ridiculously high deductible.

When I checked in at Bethesda Naval Medical Center, I wouldn’t have to feel like I was going to die at the same time as I filled in forms and answered questions about who was responsible for payment.

If I were President and went for my annual checkup or a few tests and a couple of nights in Bethesda, I’d think a great deal about the wonderful care I was getting and say to myself, “When I get outta here, I’m gonna make sure that every single person in America has access to this sort of stuff.”

If I were the President, I’d want historians to call me the Health President. The guy who put affordable health, dignified illness and fret-free recovery into the lives of everyone. If I were this President, who had just had a scary moment, I’d stop jogging, take a long reflective walk and think about “the health of the people.”

PATRICIA KENNEDY

Corona del Mar