In today's pages: Reform for all!

July 13, 2009 | 12:01 pm

In today's pages: reform. Reform of the health care system, reform of immigration policy and reform of fire retardant laws. Let's start with health care.

The editorial board today takes a look at how to improve medical care while lowering costs in a reformed health care system, and suggests three ways to do so: invest in primary care, develop treatment standards for medical professionals and promote information technology that tracks patient care.

One encouraging thing about healthcare reform, however, is that improving the quality of care can help slow the debilitating increase in costs. It's good for all. And although the changes required won't be easy, they're essential to the crucial third piece of the healthcare reform puzzle, which is providing coverage to all Americans.

The board is perturbed by the El Pueblo de Los Angeles historical landmark, and the businesses that are affiliated with it on Olvera Street. The site, which claims to be the location where Los Angeles was founded, has been costing the city money instead of paying for itself. The rents on the merchants' stalls along the back alley are much lower than market rate, and the board calls for the city to reset the rents and make this historical landmark cover its costs.

On the op-ed side of the pages, health care again! Phil Lebhertz, director of the Foundation for Health Coverage Education, points out that many health care programs exist for lower-income folks, but many just don't know about it:

If such a government health insurance option is implemented, will people who are uninsured sign up for it? The question is valid because one-third of the 47 million uninsured people in the United States -- that's 15 million people -- are eligible for government coverage plans already in place but not signed up....

Perhaps a first step in fixing the current healthcare delivery system is to create legislation that mandates an effective communication system for any new program as well as the programs already in place.

And reform is again the word of the day, as Jeb Bush, Thomas F. McLarty III and Edward Alden broach the issue of immigration policy and the outcome of a Council on Foreign Relations Task Force they recently headed. Encouraged by President Obama's call for change of the immigration system, the three politicians propose to make it easier for some illegal immigrants to gain citizenship, reward businesses that use programs such as E-Verify to check applicants' immigration status, and align immigration policy with America's competitive interests.

Russell Long, vice president of Friends of the Earth, urges California to stop requiring that fire retardant chemicals be used on baby products. Long says the chemicals are not proven to be fire-proof, and instead could be dangerous to the infant's, and their parents', health:

Making matters worse, California's law has meant that baby products are often treated with the chemicals even in states that don't require such treatment. To avoid manufacturing two separate lines, one for California and another for other states, many manufacturers make their products sold in other states to California standards.

Finally, columnist Gregory Rodriguez tries to find a link between the recession and the declining divorce rate. His conclusion? Our society has yet to find (or create) a marriage model that incorporates all of society's changes and the choices both men and women have:

This fits right into the fact that we're divorcing less in hard times. In the context of this recession, we have fewer choices, and fewer choices means we're back to a good fit with the marriage model of old. Still -- and a little paradoxically -- the fact that there are untraditional marriages may also be helping husbands and wives withstand some of the emotional and financial stress of economic hard times. During the Depression, the ego blow to a man who lost his job caused marital problems. Today, if a man loses his job -- and his wife is the breadwinner -- it's less likely to create as much unhappiness.

Photo: U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden (C) speaks as Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (L), and President and CEO of Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA) Carol Keehan (R) listen as Biden makes an announcement on health care at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building of the White House July 8, 2009 in Washington, DC. Credit: Alex Wong / Getty Images

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Well one thing for sure, every one who wants to reside must show submission to the law, or else...simple.

Posted by: cisco training | July 14, 2009 at 10:56 PM

"The good ole boys" you decry were the ones who built the country you are so eager for your relatives to suck from, Ivan. You might want to thank those nasty good ole boys the next time you compare our roads to Mexico's, our welfare system to Mexico's, our water and sewer facilities to Mexico's, etc.

Posted by: MaryJ | July 14, 2009 at 07:18 AM

Anybody pointing to racist groups and interests such as FAIR and NumbersUSA might as well be a member of the Nazi party. Those are disgusting, racist, and xenophobic groups, fearing that the days of good ole' boy America are over. KKK?Anybody?
A comprehensive immigration reform with path to citizenship is a matter of when, not if! And it is the right thing to do!

Posted by: Ivan | July 14, 2009 at 06:25 AM

If you--GOOGLE--illegal immigration you can research the true costs, the real numbers of those squatting here and the massive consequences? The most damaging is--irreversible OVERPOPULATION. There is a battle commencing in the House and Senate this week, to weaken E-Verify and the startling amendment to fund the original two layer border fence. Sen. Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano will try to table these new amendments or even kill them. Recall Reid nearly obliterated E-Verify, the extraction process that removes illegal immigrants from job placement. THESE NEW AMENDMENTS ARE IN INSTANT JEOPARDY, SO DEMAND RIGID ENFORCEMENT, NO AMNESTY AND NO MORE EXCUSES?

Posted by: Brittancus | July 13, 2009 at 01:08 PM

o to the websites NUMBERSUSA, JUDICIALWATCH, CAPSWEB, HERITAGE FOUNDATION & AMERICANPATROL for facts not found in newspapers or even the government. THERE IS GATHERING STORM OF FURIOUS VOTERS from across America. We cannot, must not--STOP-- THE BARRAGE ON THEIR SENATE AND CONGRESS. 202-224-3121 THE US TAXPAYER must remain vigilant, letting these politicians know whose in charge? That their jobs are on the line, like millions of American workers.

ATTENTION! Because of the massive payments to illegal immigrants in California, their is a petition. Google--TAXPAYER REVOLUTION.

Opinion L.A.

The best in Southern California opinion journalism,
Monday through Friday

In today's pages: Reform for all!

Opinion L.A.

The best in Southern California opinion journalism,Monday through Friday

In today's pages: Reform for all!

The best in Southern California opinion journalism,
Monday through Friday