Thanks, Gary Horton, for saying what needs to be said: Our health care system needs to be fixed, and even Obama's plan can't do the job, since it expands coverage while relying on insurance companies to provide the benefits.

These companies have an inherent conflict of interest, limiting expenditures to maximize investors' profits while, at the same time, providing a high level of care to their policy-holders. There's no way for them to do both.

Advocates of national universal coverage have avoided the term "socialized medicine," since it's one of the "third rail" terms that send politicians running for cover.

But just as two other "third rail" subjects, Medicare and Social Security, need to be taken out of the closet and fixed, this one needs to be addressed more openly.

Let's take a look at the best health care systems in other first world countries and how they provide better care while reducing expenditures.

Let's not shy away from reworking the system simply because some people are afraid of the name of the solution.