It is exciting to know that maybe, just maybe, the U.S. is now  finally on the verge of reigning in health care costs, eliminating the pre-existing condition stigma and setting up a system that makes quality health care available to every one of our fellow citizens.

Today, for those who can afford health insurance, premiums (and insurance company profits) increase unabated.

For the millions who are not insured (including the working poor), the lack of preventative care and postponed treatment of illnesses ultimately ends in much more costly emergency room treatment or worse -- premature death.

The bills now before Congress reveal several paths out of the morass of the health care system we have today. It is a once in a (healthy) lifetime opportunity to fix a broken and expensive system.