HMO profits have fallen. The doctors' incomes have fallen. Many hospitals and medical groups are on the verge of bankruptcy. They are being asked to provide care with fewer and fewer resources available to do that. And the consumers aren't happy because they feel they can't get the care they need.
Most voters seem ready to accept at least some government intervention.
In national and state polls, about 63 percent said they want the federal government to create national standards to protect the rights of patients in health maintenance organizations. The health-care debate is not like some other hot political issues, such as guns or abortion, on which voters generally have a clear understanding of the debate and strong feelings about the solutions. But there are some drawbacks to that approach, too. I'm really open to dialogue on this issue because I don't think I have the answer. Former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley, the one candidate who had proposed radical surgery to the health care system, did not make it through the primaries.