It is time for President Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress to pass health care reform, imperfect as the product is. They should pass it through the reconciliation process, as it seems they will have to. They should pass it for my patients who cannot afford to come in for pediatric care. They should pass it over the shouts of "No!" from the Republicans, who offer no alternatives but poorly enunciated plans for more-of-the-same policies that would further doom our current system.

They should pass it for the sake of the people who cannot get health care insurance when it's needed most dearly. They should pass it even if it means risking their re-election chances if the reforms do not happen quickly enough. Democrats, including our own Rep. Jim Matheson, should pass it, having had their fiscal concerns answered by the Congressional Budget Office. They should pass it so that Americans may receive the essential care that citizens in other developed nations do. They should pass it over the cries and naïve message bills of our local, parochial, ideology-laden state legislators.

They have the power. They should pass it, for all of us.

Tom Metcalf, M.D.

Salt Lake City