Weighing in on the Health Care Debate...a little bill in KS, Libertarians, Lobbyists..etc

There's been a lot of discussion about national health care online lately, as well as in the papers and on the television news outlets. The senators, congressmen, and the President of the US are pounding the pavement in townhalls across the country arguing for national healthcare. And I've more or less stayed out of it, or stayed silent, letting it play out.
Feeling a tad cynical about the whole thing, because honestly I think I have a better chance of winning the lottery than a national health care bill getting passed. I could be wrong of course, but I've been here before, way back in 1994 - in a little ole town named Topeka, where I was working for a Kansas State Senator who had proposed a bill for universial health care for all Kansans. At that point in time, states were attempting to pass their own bills since the federal government failed to get one rolling.

I wrote a paper on the bill, how it got proposed, and why it died a blistering and bloody death. Even compared it to a competing bill in Congress.

But before I go into details, a link to a very good post providing information regarding national health care issue from various sources:

http://liz-marcs.livejournal.com/453649.html - thanks goes to the lovely and ever informative liz_mars regarding this.

In 1994 - for a legislative clinic course, I wrote a paper regarding the legislative process at the state level. My assignment was to examine the path of a bill, in this case a failed one on health care reform. The bill proposed was meant to complete a thorough study of health care plans. To develop a health care plan for the state of Kansas by 1995 with cost containment solutions. Most of the paper I've lost, but I was able to uncover a bit of it, the last five or six pages. Enough to give me a good idea why the bill failed and to remind me of the reasons that the health care issue is a dicey one. Not that I needed reminding.
( My health insurance experiences )

At any rate, back in 1994, way before all of the above happened - I was working for a Senator who was trying to get a health insurance bill passed that would monitor and provide insurance for all Kansans within a two-three year time period. You can't find it on the net and I doubt anyone remembers it but me. Well maybe that Senator.

This is what happened:
( story of the a little health care bill not passing in the Kansas Senate in 1994 )

( About Lobbyists )

( My views on Libertarianism )

( my experiences/perspective on health care overseas and why paying for someone else's health care is actually a good idea...in the long run )

^{[As an aside, the thing I hate most about posting online is the frigging formatting. I suck at formatting. No patience for it whatsoever. Off to bed, exhausting day.]}