LETTERS

To the Editor:

I read with interest the recent article in Sonoma Medicine entitled, “Who Killed Health Care Reform” by Assemblymember Noreen Evans. She chose an excellent forum to express her views to the Sonoma County medical community. Unfortunately, it rings of the shameless political finger pointing we have all grown so tired of. Rather than laying blame on everyone but herself, how about working for real reform that both sides can agree on? That’s what we elect officials to do.

One of my favorite sayings has always been, “When you point the finger at someone else, there are three pointed back at you.” As a Sonoma County family practice doctor, I’m not interested in pitting one side against the other so Ms. Evans can have someone to blame come election time. That’s the kind of politics that has made “decline to state” the fastest growing group of voters. We don’t want to be affiliated with either party because we are disgusted with both.

Ms. Evans’ job is not to find reasons why someone else prevented her from achieving health care reform. Her job is to make health care reform happen at a legislative level. I was disappointed to see our otherwise fine journal devote two pages to free political advertising and blame laying. If health care reform at the state legislative level has failed, it is not just the fault of people in the other party who didn’t agree with Ms. Evans. It is the fault of Ms. Evans (and of all our legislators) for failing to build support and consensus. It is our fault if we continue to support their partisanship by giving it voice in our journal and giving them our votes at election time.

Mike Ismail, MD
Family Medicine Service
Kaiser Santa Rosa