In Part 1 of this series, I presented the first pillar of an EPIC solution for health care reform: Evidence. In short, the application of science-based approaches of assessment and treatment would decrease costs and improve outcomes.

The US is spending a lot of money to insure fewer people and provide less adequate care. Our current system of health insurance is based on a pooled risk. The insurance company effectively rations care simply by making the decision to pay or not, based on the risk factor involved. Don’t forget: the insurance company is doing whatever it can to minimize payments because, imagine this, they are a business trying to make money. We shouldn’t necessarily hold that against them.

What people want their health insurance to do – and what it is actually designed to do – are two different things. If you have auto insurance, for example, you don’t expect it to pay for the maintenance of your vehicle, do you? You would only utilize it in catastrophic situations. There is nothing wrong with that thinking – but a pooled risk system isn’t designed very effectively for the health care world. So let’s build it a little differently from the ground up.

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March. March Mayhem. Not just March Madness - it's downright March Mayhem!

Why so? It's one of my favorite months of the year - and that has it's roots in the '70s and '80s. Ahhh the early days ...

For a sports fan like myself, it's THE best time of year. As a college basketball fan, it's time for March Madness. I've been following college basketball since high school - that's a lot of Final Fours! My first Final Four memory is 1981's final between Indiana and North Carolina.

After Saturday's game against Kansas, the University of Texas heads to the Big 12 conference tournament and then (hopefully) on to the NCAA tournament. It's time for the round of 64, the Big Dance - two 4-day weekends of basketball, then the semifinals and final on Monday April 6. Rarely do I schedule a TV event months in advance - but this is one that goes on the calendar ASAP!

March also brings the start of the Formula One season. I've been following Formula One even longer than college hoops!

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Health care reform has become a red hot topic that has inspired the wrath of Republicans and Democrats alike. Both groups, much like Nero, are playing the fiddle as Rome burns and health care costs skyrocket. Some have gone so far as to say that health care reform may even be unconstitutional. As the debate is waged, facts are lost in the vitriol and diatribe.

One fact that everyone agrees on is the cost of health care in this country. We are currently spending 17% of our GDP annually to pay for health care. Projections are close to 20% over the next decade. That is not something that can be maintained. Simple. Rome is burning and needs a fire extinguisher, and a big one at that.

As Einstein once said, we cannot solve problems using the same thinking that we used to develop them in the first place. And this becomes all the more apparent in health care.

This four part series is about exactly that – solutions to the health care woes in this country. It will require an EPIC solution for an epic problem.

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On Wednesday night, the University of Texas played Texas Tech at the Erwin Center. It really wasn't much of a game. Texas played well enough to win, though they almost stumbled along the way. But Tech couldn't extend their first half 60% shooting into the second half, and balance was restored yet again at the Drum.

But Wednesday was important for another reason: it was the night that the University of Texas retired jersey #35 - that of Kevin Durant.

There are those that argue that it was undeserved. He was at UT for one season - how could we suddenly retire his jersey? But I can tell you that there is no doubt in my mind that it was much-deserved. The accolades were astounding - 7 national player of the year awards. His statistics? Incomprehensible for a freshman. He averaged 25.8 points per game (28.9 points in Big 12 games) - and had twenty 30 point games in the same season (one of which was in the Big 12 final vs Kansas). And though all the numbers and awards would say enough on their own, there is an intangible element that you really had to see to believe.

I've been very fortunate to be witness to many great athletic performances over the years. From Michael Johnson (at the Atlanta Olympics) to Ricky Williams (career rushing record at Texas) to Michael Schumacher (seven time F1 world championship), I've seen athletes perform at a level that many would consider super-human. And I can attest, without a shadow of a doubt, that Kevin Durant's season at Texas falls into this category.

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