Complex issues deserve time, effortLittle more than a month ago, it seemed health care reform was imminent. The Senate and the House each had passed a bill and were working toward crafting a final version to present for President Obama's signature.Democrats were shooting to have reform signed into law in early 2010.My, how things have changed. The loss of the late Democrat Ted Kennedy's Massachusetts Senate seat to Republican Scott Brown eliminated the Democrats' filibuster-proof majority in Congress. And health care reform now is in serious jeopardy, despite the extraordinary expenditure of time and effort (not to mention money) that went into creating the legislation.There's solid proof that reform is needed. According to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the United States is the “only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not ensure that all citizens have coverage.” A 2009 Harvard University study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that each year 45,000 American deaths can be associated with a lack of health insurance.That's simply unacceptable.The challenge now is figuring out how to fix the problem.It's clear that people on both sides of the debate are not content with the present status of the American health care system. But where do we go from here? Should all the work done so far be scrapped altogether? Or can we still benefit from the path that has been laid?It may well be time to begin anew, with both houses of Congress dedicating the time, study and sleeves-up hard work to honestly try to find a middle-ground, affordable compromise. Reform needs to start — somewhere.Wyoming's Republican Sen. Mike Enzi has already played an active role in seeking a bipartisan solution. Wyoming's other senator, John Barrasso, is a physician — he knows the system and its problems only too well and should have a keen desire to see real reform.Now isn't the time to give up. Now is the time to rededicate. We urge Wyoming's representatives in Washington, D.C., to take a leadership role in making sure the effort already invested in this exceedingly complex issue isn't for naught.

Complex issues deserve time, effort

Little more than a month ago, it seemed health care reform was imminent.

The Senate and the House each had passed a bill and were working toward crafting a final version to present for President Obama's signature.

Democrats were shooting to have reform signed into law in early 2010.

My, how things have changed. The loss of the late Democrat Ted Kennedy's Massachusetts Senate seat to Republican Scott Brown eliminated the Democrats' filibuster-proof majority in Congress. And health care reform now is in serious jeopardy, despite the extraordinary expenditure of time and effort (not to mention money) that went into creating the legislation.

There's solid proof that reform is needed. According to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the United States is the “only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not ensure that all citizens have coverage.” A 2009 Harvard University study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that each year 45,000 American deaths can be associated with a lack of health insurance.

That's simply unacceptable.

The challenge now is figuring out how to fix the problem.

It's clear that people on both sides of the debate are not content with the present status of the American health care system. But where do we go from here? Should all the work done so far be scrapped altogether? Or can we still benefit from the path that has been laid?

It may well be time to begin anew, with both houses of Congress dedicating the time, study and sleeves-up hard work to honestly try to find a middle-ground, affordable compromise. Reform needs to start — somewhere.

Wyoming's Republican Sen. Mike Enzi has already played an active role in seeking a bipartisan solution.

Wyoming's other senator, John Barrasso, is a physician — he knows the system and its problems only too well and should have a keen desire to see real reform.

Now isn't the time to give up. Now is the time to rededicate. We urge Wyoming's representatives in Washington, D.C., to take a leadership role in making sure the effort already invested in this exceedingly complex issue isn't for naught.