In the movie "Apollo 13," there is a famous scene of program engineers desperately at work trying to figure out how to bring the crew safely back to earth. They gather up all of the material that the crew has at its disposal and throw it on a table.

That was the starting point from which they developed a way to get the crew home. They were dedicated to making it happen; they were not going to leave the room until they had figured it out. And as we all know, the crew returned safely to a relieved nation.

As I have watched the developing drama in Sacramento about repairing the healthcare system, that "Apollo 13" scene comes to mind. Our crippled healthcare system is barreling toward a fiery collapse unless we dedicate ourselves to finding the proper solution.

Everyone agrees that fixing our healthcare system is long overdue, but everyone takes issue with the proposed solutions, which are often at the expense of healthcare providers. Indeed, there are no simple solutions. But we cannot afford inaction. Physicians cannot continue to subsidize the uninsured. Emergency rooms cannot continue to be the only access point to care for millions. And insurance companies cannot continue to be more concerned about enhancing shareholder value than about providing reasonably priced, basic healthcare for their members.

The government needs to lead the way by adequately funding Medicare and Medicaid. Physicians should not have to fight annual battles to preserve the already low reimbursement provided by government payers. Elected officials need to listen to organized medicine, lest they wonder what happened to all the doctors. Further, the day is quickly coming when a significant physician shortage will cause major waves in the entire healthcare system. Physicians are banging the gong on this point, yet no one seems to be listening.

Several reform proposals have been thrown on the table by state and federal elected officials. The only problem is that they haven't thrown everything on the table. Until everything is on the table and we have dedicated elected officials who are committed to doing the right thing and unwilling to leave the room until our patients have affordable access to care, we will not have the necessary positive reform.

We need EVERYTHING on the table--liability reform for physicians; guaranteed access to necessary healthcare for all, regardless of cost or prior medical conditions; reasonable Medicare and Medicaid rates; and hospital care for patients upon request by physicians, to name a few.

These examples are just the tip of the iceberg. Yes, physicians will have to give some during the reform process. But in the long run, if healthcare reform is correctly focused on the interests of the patients--instead of the special interests within the industry--we have hope for success.

If not, our healthcare system is nothing but a doomed spaceship about to meet a terrible fate.

Perry Cain is public affairs and communications director at the Orange County Medical Association. He can be reached at 714/978-1160 or pcain@ocma.org.