Uncontrollable Systems

Any plan that requires the interaction of
Organizations with different interests
Cannot be controlled,
Therefore is bound to fail.

A case in point is the kerfuffle
About health care in the United States;
Whether the Affordable Care Act
Is the solution to all our health problems.

Its primary objective is to provide
Each citizen with health insurance;
As though possession of an insurance card
Automatically results in well-being.

As many have said and written:
"It won't work because it can't work,"
Because it is an interlocking system
With conflicting and uncontrollable variables.

Assuming it is allowed to continue,
Policitians will be tinkering with it for generations.
The game of "whack-a-mole" will be played
To cope with each nasty "unintended consequence."

The governor of our commonwealth announced
That 98 percent of its citizens are now insured.
He also said that a pressing need is to
Figure out how to reduce the rising costs.

On our island peninsula, primary care physicians
Decline to add new patients; surgical specialists
Are booked six months in advance,
Sending the overflow to big city hospitals.

Conversely, immediate health care is now available
At walk-in centers across Cape Cod.
Some are subsidized, some are hospital affiliates,
A few are private, all are supported by volunteers.

The lesson is that the improvement
Of our health care system
Started at the bottom, rather than being
Imposed from the top.