Last weekend I was watching a great college football game between Oklahoma and BYU. At some point in the telecast, Todd Blackledge - who was calling the game - said essentially, "I think you put the ball in the hands of your Heisman trophy winning quarterback and let him take your team down the field."

Good point Todd. Unfortunately for Oklahoma, shortly after Todd's insightful comment, the Heisman Trophy winner went out with an injury and Oklahoma was forced to use their untested backup quarterback.

So, as it relates to healthcare reform, who's the Heisman Trophy winner? Who's hands do you put the ball in, when the game is on the line? And who's the untested backup?

I'm going to get straight to the point and say that I think the "untested backup" in the case of healthcare reform is more government and increased spending. Similarly, I think the Heisman trophy equivalent in this case isn't one person - it's all of us. It's the American public. Put reform in our hands and watch us make it happen - particularly as it relates to choosing and purchasing our own care.

Ever heard of a health savings account? It's amazing how you pay attention to healthcare costs, when the funds that pay for those costs are being taken right out of your own bank account! One man told me the story of how he and his wife changed from traditional insurance to a health savings account. The first time his wife went to fill a prescription, rather than just letting her insurance pay for it - which is what she always did before - she actually asked for the price of the medication. When they said, "$300", she called her husband and asked what she should do. After all, she needed the medication! He told her to walk away and assured her that they would find a better price. After doing a little research on the Internet, they found a site called destinationRX.com, which comparison shops prescriptions in your local area. They ended up paying $35 for the exact same prescription that had previously been quoted at $300!

Sarah Palin wrote a great piece in the Wall Street Journal today. You can read it at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052970203440104574400581157986024.html.

I especially like the following paragraph from her article;

Instead of poll-driven "solutions," let's talk about real health-care reform: market-oriented, patient-centered, and result-driven. As the Cato Institute's Michael Cannon and others have argued, such policies include giving all individuals the same tax benefits received by those who get coverage through their employers; providing Medicare recipients with vouchers that allow them to purchase their own coverage; reforming tort laws to potentially save billions each year in wasteful spending; and changing costly state regulations to allow people to buy insurance across state lines. Rather than another top-down government plan, let's give Americans control over their own health care.

Think about that last sentence for a minute. "Let's give Americans control over their own health care." Why? Because Americans are the Heisman equivalents of healthcare reform. Of course some overall healthcare reform is needed, but more government and more spending are not the answers. Give Americans some credit. When you put the ball in our hands, we will find the solutions that meet our needs and the free-market economy will work its magic. And when that happens, we all win.

Jon Black is the President and CEO of checkMD, the first inclusive healthcare social network and healthcare reform web site dedicated to fixing our nation's healthcare system. Find Quality Care at www.checkmd.com.