It never fails, you get used to one way of doing things with your health insurance and whammo – someone yanks the carpet out from under you. Now presto/chango the rules are different and you have to learn them fast or run the risk of getting claims denied.

None of the constant confusion in the health care system ought to be much of a surprise in this day and age. Prior to the election, the health insurance rules and regulations were a mare's nest and after the election they are still a mare's nest. However, there is some hope on the horizon for changes that actually make sense for all Americans. What would be even nicer is if the "pooh-bahs" who ran the health insurance system would talk to one another now and then.

You all know exactly what happens in a coffee shop or at a party when someone says health care. The conversation gets really hot as people debate the merits of what we have versus what may be possible. It's definitely an interesting debate, but it appears to have no real solution. The one thing people do seem to agree on is that the current system is out of control and greatly overburdened. It's time for some serious changes.

All of this debate and all of the changes that are happening, and may be happening, will directly affect every tax paying American because it's their tax dollars which keep the system afloat. When the price of everything increases for services that people can no longer afford, this effectively eliminates a good chunk of the population from the system (even ones that may have been able to use it up until the recession.) Ideally, health care should be accessible and affordable for everyone.

When you stop to look at it closely, a major reason the health care system is in such a mess is the way it is operated. There are too many bosses who spend most of their time competing and not servicing their clients properly or ethically. All the big private insurance companies are businesses with a typical bottom line – money for profit. The competition for health insurance dollars is fierce, which explains why each company has an "every man for himself," mentality.

What will happen in the future for American health care? That is the 64 million dollar question and one whose partial answer lies in us – John and Jenny Q Public – taking the responsibility for our health into our own hands. No one will really look after us unless we take the initiative ourselves.