Politico was abuzz today on the subject of health care reform, offering a veritable smorgasbord of big names and big ideas—along with some caveats about caution. There's also a good run-down of the heavy advertising on health care so far this year  with much of it promoting a pro-reform, fix it now because all Americans deserve a better, fairer, more affordable, more secure health care system message.

Senator Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat and chair of the HELP committee, reminds us of the tragedy that health care costs can bring upon American families such as the Walkers, who cannot afford health care coverage for their son, a 21-year-old cancer survivor. He calls for five principles of reform: affordable, quality, coverage for all Americans; delivery and payment system reform; an emphasis on wellness and preventative care; sustainable and long-term support for the disabled; and the elimination of fraud and abuse in both public and private health care sectors. "I want Jake Walker and millions of others in his position to know he is in our minds, our hearts and our prayers," said Kennedy. "Most of all, I want to make 2009 the year we end this unacceptable American tragedy."

Senator Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat who chairs the Finance Committee, describes the urgent need for health care reform. "Our health care system is in crisis," says Baucus. "This isn't being dramatic or hyperbolic. There is no better, or more accurate, term to describe our current situation than ‘crisis.'" The cost of health care premiums for the average family rose five times faster than wages between 2000 and 2008 and the economy is losing hundreds and billions of dollars because of the lost productivity and poorer health of the uninsured. There are already approximately 46 million Americans without insurance, and the economic crisis adds thousands more each day. Baucus calls for lawmakers to come together to achieve health care reform that will lower costs, improve quality, and ensure coverage for all Americans.

Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean offers his perspective as a politician, presidential candidate, and former practicing physician to his health care reform opinion piece. He encourages investment in health information technology to lower costs, reduce errors, and expand access, but emphasizes the importance of small, private practice physicians in implementing HIT infrastructure reform. Small, inner city and rural practices provide most of the ambulatory care in the US but often do not have the resources to switch over to electronic medical records. Dean argues that the importance of HIT has been underscored by the recent outbreak of swine flu, "If a coherent, national electronic medical records system existed in the U.S. today it would be far easier, faster and more effective to get the necessary data that could accurately document and predict the spread of this virus. Ultimately this could help save lives and more effectively direct resources."

Senator Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican who is the ranking member of Finance, calls for reform of the nation's health care system, urging bipartisan compromise. He outlines four principles for reform: a thoughtful, open, bipartisan debate that doesn't rush through legislation, responsibly lowering health care costs and expanding access, allowing everyone who is satisfied with their insurance to keep it, and protecting patient choice. Grassley cautions that a public plan might lead to crowd-out of private plans, and give the government too much control over personal health care decisions. "There's good momentum now. If Republicans and Democrats agree to work together through the entire process, it can be done," Grassley concludes. "The possibilities to improve health care in a substantive way are before us."

Then there's Rep. Tom Price of Georgia, a physician and the chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee. He outlines the conservative call for building health reform around what he calls "patient empowerment." Price believes that the Democratic support of a public plan is a condemnation of the power of the free market, and argues that the success of the health care marketplace has been obstructed by government involvement through programs such as Medicare. He also believes that the government will not be able to efficiently run a health care system that puts patient choice first, and worries that government control will result in rationing. (We're not hearing a lot of people demanding that President Obama take away their Medicare...).

If all goes according to plan, in a few more weeks we'll have legislation in committee, not just op-eds in the paper. Judging by the number of respected, thoughtful lawmakers concerned about health reform, we'd say Cognress is ready.