I guess the United States...

...isn't the only country grappling with health care reform. In Britain, David Cameron (above) and the Tories are trying to reform their health care system, which has been in place since 1948. Some of the opposition sounds eerily familiar:

“We feel, and many others feel, that this reform is too much, too complicated and not necessary in terms of organizational change,” Dr. Clare Gerada, chairwoman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said in an interview. “Nobody’s been able to convince anyone I’ve spoken to why we’re doing it.”

The complaints include criticisms that the plan is ill thought out, that it will prove too costly at a time of budgetary retrenchment and that the competition and choice it promises will cause confusion and duplication, and encourage decision-making based on cost rather than quality. In the eyes of conspiracy-minded Labour politicians, however, the bill is a stalking horse for the eventual privatization of health care.

(For that last sentence, substitute "In the eyes of conspiracy-minded Republicans, however, the bill is a step toward socialized medicine.")

To repeat, England's health care system has been in place since 1948 -- over 60 years. (That's longer than I've been alive.) The NHS evolved from the previous "system," in which doctors often didn't get paid and were looking for a more secure source of income. Also, amid the chaos of the German bombing raids on London during World War II, the government took over management of the nation's hospitals (and health care system). Doctors, hospitals and patients were mostly satisfied with the arrangement.

But, again, that was over 60 years ago. Do you think, maybe, the system could use a little tweaking? After all, the Gerries were defeated a long time ago.

Reform must be hard to accomplish anywhere. The current stakeholders have a lot to lose and are often more comfortable with the "devil they know."

Good luck, Dave.