Tacking against the wind, but making progress

In the old days, there was a reason politicians avoided health care issues.  The simple reason was that it was too complicated.  Also, change was viewed as a zero-zum game, something noted by Machiavelli:It ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new. This coolness arises partly from fear of the opponents, who have the laws on their side, and partly from the incredulity of men, who do not readily believe in new things until they have had a long experience of them.To this I would add the inevitable screw-ups that occur when a government actually tries to implement the changes that it has pushed through the legislature.  Sometimes the mess-ups are logistical in nature.Witness the huge degree of incompetence on the part of the federal government in setting up the insurance exchange website.  "We were surprised by the level of traffic," was their most common response as people had trouble connecting and using the site.  What on earth did they expect? The dysfunction that emerged was palpable.  The Washington Post reports today:The number of visitors to the federal government’s HealthCare.gov Web site dropped 88 percent b...
Source: Running a hospital - Category: Health Managers Source Type: blogs