In a The Washington Post op-ed today, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius reminded us why we're talking about health reform in the first place -- because Americans want peace of mind.

Health care is not supposed to be a guessing game. Americans who have coverage should not have to wonder -- am I going to be dropped from my plan if I get sick? What happens if I lose my job?  No one should be one illness away from bankruptcy. No one should have to choose between food and shelter and medicine for themselves or their children.

The HHS Secretary says that in the current system, health insurance companies have all the power. They can deny coverage for pre-existing conditions, cherry-pick who gets covered, offer bare bones coverage plans, or charge sky-high premiums. For Sebelius, peace of mind means putting power and choice back in the hands of consumers. In a system that promotes health care coverage choice, "insurance companies... will know that if they don't deliver a great value, their customers will flee."

Sebelius mentions a phenomenon we've written about before. Graduating from college is a great moment, but it's also a scary one. She writes how proud she was of her two sons when they graduated, but at the same time, she was worried that they lost their health care coverage. Peace of mind means graduates don't have to worry about getting sick in the time it takes for them to find their first job.

Sebelius also talks about health reform as an engine for economic growth. Small businesses are an incredible source of job growth and innovation. Sebelius asks -- how many potential entrepreneurs are out there right now, dreaming of ideas for new businesses, but are stuck because of our current health care system? Some might be afraid to leave their current employers. With health care costs constantly climbing, what if they can't afford health care coverage for their family? Right now, small businesses are already struggling to afford health insurance for their workers, or dropping coverage entirely.

Sebelius said that health care costs would only get worse -- health care costs are expected to eat up 34 percent of our GDP by 2040. She concludes,

The urgency behind reform has nothing to do with the schedule of Congress and everything to do with the needs of the American people. Nor should we let ourselves be distracted by attacks that try to use the complexity of health reform to freeze Americans in inaction. We've learned over the past 20 years that "socialized medicine" and "government-run health care" are code words for "don't change anything." With some insurers raising premiums by more than 25 percent and 14,000 people losing their health insurance every day, Americans want to hear something more from their leaders than "wait and see" and "more of the same." People have enough to worry about these days. Americans deserve the peace of mind that only health care reform can provide.