The Supreme Court had its say, pundits had their day, and analysts were left working the angles on June 28, the day everything in health care allegedly changed. Everything that is, except for our tendency to place energies and emphasis on the wrong areas of discussion.

Politicians and the media triggered “tax vs. penalty” and “federal powers vs. state sovereignty” story lines, and we’re once again obscuring our ability to see the forest for the trees. Frankly, a semantics debate isn’t likely to contribute much toward improving health care, while a federal powers discussion is the kind of thing the Supreme Court should – and did – rule on. It’s time to move on.

The issue of misdirected passion begins and ends with each of us. Make a healthy downpayment to yourself by being careful which issues consume your time and attention. There are plenty of substantive items to discuss, and multiple places to learn and talk about them. Healthcare.gov is a click away. So are statehealthfacts.org and kaiserhealthnews.org. Give thehealthcareblog.com ten minutes of your time. Dive in. Understand and share insights on substantive matters related to the law.

Distractions can be hazardous not only to your health – but to the health of all Arizonans. Tax or penalty? Who cares? Healthy or unhealthy? Now that’s a question worth discussing.