Once upon a time, in simpler, poorer days of fewer medical remedies, when we got sick, we just endured illness, got better with limited available treatments, or died. Life expectancy was shorter then.
But in recent decades, marvelous medical progress has taken place.
Wonder drugs have been developed. There are good hospitals. Able doctors provide lifesaving and quality-of-life-enhancing treatments.
Many of us live longer, and many ills have been alleviated or conquered outright.
These accomplishments have come with high costs.
Yet we don't like to dwell too much on costs when a longer and more comfortable life is available. That's troubling, because ignoring costs doesn't make them go away.
Part of the solution to the cost problem has been insurance, with millions of people sharing the expenses and pre-paying in small increments over time before doctor visits, prescriptions, hospitalization and operations may be needed.
But as demand for advanced procedures has risen tremendously, there has been increasing and expensive government intervention in medical care - and little consideration of the fact that we must pay for government programs with heavy taxes!
Those costs are becoming evident, though, in our massive federal debt. We celebrate the fact that we may live longer and more comfortably. But we suffer - through higher taxes and debt, as well as higher premiums - to meet our medical needs and wants.
And then we insist on still greater government involvement, despite Washington's horrible track record of out-of-control entitlement spending. We seem to have bought into the notion that we can get something for nothing, but that's just not realistic.
Our challenge is to develop, provide - and somehow pay for - the best medical care we can, for all of our people, through a variety of ways.
That's quite a balancing act.