Thanks to you all. Tom, I pose to my students what I think is the central question of medicine today: "Is healthcare a right or a commodity?" I don't think our culture has decided this yet. Needless to say, that causes problems.

I am not eloquent enough to always be able to express my thoughts without sounding like Ted Kaczinski on an anti-government rant, and that is not my intention. It is easy to see choices as a binary A or B situation. I just want my friends to remember that the answer may not be A or B, but may include C, D, E, or even none of the above. I am certainly not critical of those who choose option A.


David Grauman MD
Department of Medicine
Commonwealth Health Center
Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands