Editorial: Health care committee lacks focus

Thursday, Dec. 4, 1997 | 10:20 a.m.

THOSE who attended the Legislative Committee on Health Care's meeting in Las Vegas this week got got a firsthand look at how bureaucrats are able to turn interesting and important issues into a seven-hour marathon water-torture test.

"Long-term Health Care Needs of Persons Living in Nevada" was the main topic. And it's a very important one. But after listening to hours of researchers, administrators, investigators, health-care officials -- and to occasional interjections by lawmakers -- people had to splash cold water on their faces to stay awake.

Nothing is more boring than listening to a bureaucrat read a report for a half hour that rambles and makes no attempt to focus on the problem. Several committee members were actually observed more than once nervously shuffling papers in front of them, getting up to leave the room or staring off into space with brain-dead glazes in their eyes.

Learn to get to the point. And don't cite reams of statistics, or read through charts, if you're not going to say why they are important. Most importantly, don't recite written reports verbatim. Having someone read to you is a proven method of putting you to sleep.

It would also help if bureaucrats discussed topics in the order of the material they pass out. It's hard enough trying to hear what's being discussed.

The meeting at the Grant Sawyer State Office Building in Las Vegas was teleconferenced to Carson City. The state's electronic communication system can easily be compared to the Russian space station Mir's technology. Several times those in attendance, in both cities, said they couldn't hear what was being said.

The second half of the meeting dealt with -- or was supposed to deal with -- the state's dilemma of providing health insurance for its poor children. Gov. Bob Miller is pushing his own plan called Nevada Check-up, but several others are being floated.

William Hall, chief executive officer of University Medical Center, pitched his own plan for the county hospital to run the program. Committee members thanked him for his interest, saying they were still tossing around other ideas.

Chairman Sen. Ray Rawson, R-Las Vegas, even joked that committee members would have to get serious and make some decision in the next two or three meetings.

Maybe the bureaucrats -- many of whom predetermined that this meeting would last six hours -- should curb their rambling doubletalk and stop reading boring reports everyone already has copies of.

Maybe then, two or three more meetings wouldn't be needed to find solutions to important problems plaguing our rapidly growing state.