Truth and Consequences of Health Care Reform
by Dr. Elaina GeorgeThe health care reform bill (HR 3962) that just passed the House of Representatives is bad on so many levels it is difficult explain. As it stands, it will destroy the doctor-patient relationship and change the practice of medicine as we know it.
We have one of the finest health care systems in the world. It has been built on a foundation of choice. Doctors were free to choose the care that they deem necessary to treat their patients, and patients were free to seek the medical care of their choice. Initially, the foundation was shaken by the rise of the managed care system with capitation. However, over the past 10 years, capitated plans which limit access to specialists have given way to the rise in power of insurance companies. They have used their anti-trust exemption to craft a system that has used monopoly to increase profits on the backs of both doctors and patients.
Unfortunately, the House does not address necessary changes that would lead to meaningful reform, such as breaking the monopoly strangle-hold that insurance companies enjoy, reigning in the enormous profits of the pharmaceutical industry, tort reform, or crafting a healthcare system based on wellness and prevention and not the management of disease. Instead HR 3962 creates a layer of government bureaucracy that inserts itself between the doctor and the patient by creating a national health commissioner and task forces that will evaluate and decide everything from what medications a physician is allowed to prescribe to a patient, to what surgery will be approved, to what outcomes will be expected for a particular medical condition.
Taken to its logical extent, this bill will create a world where the good of the many by definition MUST outweigh the needs of the few because to spend large sums of money on a limited number of patients will increase costs without the guarantee of a good outcome. It only makes sense as long as you are not the senior citizen that needs a hip replacement, the premature infant with multiple medical problems, or the person with a chronic disease that statistics show has a limited time left on this earth. The House bill sets up a health care system with a finite number of resources (e.g., doctors, hospitals, expensive medical equipment). Because of these limitations, the system must be used to help those who the government determines to be the most productive people. A principle that has been advocated by a senior White House health adviser called “the complete lives system “. This system will prioritize healthcare for those who are younger on the theory that they have not yet lived a complete life by using tools such as lottery and prognosis to determine who receives care.
This system would lead to a harsh reality; but how else can we possibly cover more people with limited resources at a lower cost without raising the deficit as this bill promises? Medicare and Social Security are two government run programs that suggest that the answer to this question is… you can’t.
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64 Comments
Dr. Elaina George: by what metric do "We have one of the finest health care systems in the world"?
by the number driven in to bankruptcy as a result? by the most expensive in the world? Please explain.
I would like to hear from Dr.George, specifically.
Ok, so since this is Sunday and I don't feel like blogging very seriously ( forgive me) I thought I would just pass along these "very serious" headlines I read in the rags waiting in line at the local supermarket.
" Obama's lung cancer scare" " Obama lost 25 lbs" " Obama's continous coughing" " Muchelle distressed"
"Obama collapses"
Yes, yes we all know the gossip rags speculate but where there's smoke there's fire….maybe, hopefully the 2010 elections will be full of surprises.
sorry dr. george, but there is no strangle hold by insurance companies, and profits by any company are allowed under a capitalist system. government, mostly state governments control the monopoly in their states by controlling and regulating the insurance companies in their states. and if a drug is keeping you alive, or funtioning, isn't the hard work of drug companies allowed to profit. if the patents were allowed to start when a drug is in the market, instead of when it is developed, they wouldn't need to recoup their investment so fast. this health reform is bad, but your arguments are flawed as well. government is always the problem, never the solution. get the government enitrely out of health care, and you will see reform and competition. health care for pets has more competition than people do.
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please note — you are only driven into bankruptcy, if you can't pay for your healthcare.
You should first have tried to secure a job with healthcare benefits. If you couldn't do that, then you should have found a job that could have paid you enough cash to buy your healthcare….then with what was left over, you could buy your new car, or big screen TV, or that mcmansion new home, or that cruise in the carribean…
you know, it's called stepping up… and taking charge of your own responsibilities……..not waiting for your mommy to take care of you ….you spolied litttkle kid….grow up!
What a bunch of nonsense.
please note.
if you ever develop a serious medical condition no matter how good your benefits, then get laid off through no fault of your own, or your company fails and goes under:
you are utterly uninsurable. its called"Pre-existing conditions". this has absolutely nothing to do with "stepping up… and taking charge of your own responsibilities"
Look it up. Or maybe the good Dr. Elaina George will explain that for us?
Scott,
Are you a physician? Do you have any experience in the healthcare feild? I am a speciaty physcisian and agree totally with Dr. George. We not only have the best healthcare system, our system is logrithmically better than any other system in the world. No one graduates from American medical institutions to study in Canada or Europe. In absolutley every catigory of cancer in which medical treatment prolongs life, the US ranks above everyone.
The current administration is not focusing on one single aspect of medicine that would have the potential to decrease costs and improve care. Instead they are focusing on universal coverage. Tell me what does it help to decrease the quality of healthcare for 90% of us with insurance to help 10% without?
Why can't we do just a few simple things:
1. Lift anti trust restrictions (increase competition of insurers and bring down costs)
2. Go after tort reform, likely consumes around ~20% of all healthcare dollars
3. Allow people to purchase their own healthcare independent of the employers. This way people could keep their plan if they lost their job. (this would put a bid dent dropping people for preexisting conditions)
3. Give tax incentives for healthy people to purchase high deductible plans. This, in my opinion, has the greatest potential for savings. This in essence would prevent people from over using the system. If they have skin in the game, one would think twice before waisting money!
The Doctor makes perfect sense to me.
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scott_z and his same old bankruptcy broken record.
We're talking equipment, trained persons in the field
Nowhere else has all of the latest tech, trained personel, etc.
http://www.cafepress.com/rightwingstuff
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This health care reform bill is the first step towards a single payer system. That is why they are desperate that it include the public option.
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@Scott- Bravo- Well said. As a wellness educator I have run across numerous people who *refuse* for whatever excuse, to take responsibility for their own health. 1) Health doesn't just happen or not happen to you. Health is, in the majority of cases, a direct result of your choices. Ooops, there's that evil "personal responsibility" again. May I add to your comment, FDA reform? The FDA is in bed with Big Pharma and effectively puts the squeeze on CAM (complementary alternative medicine) and supplements. We're not talking hocum, we're talking about legitimate prodcuts w/3rd party and peer-reviewed research behind them.
And if you really, really, want the lie of universal health care, move to Oregon, Massachusetts, England, Canada, or Russia. No one is stopping you. Don't force it on me.
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Thank you, Dr. George, for re-iterating the state of our health care. For hundreds of years, America has worked tirelessly to improve it, and, while not perfect, it clearly is the finest in the world. The majority of Americans do not want the government in our health care, and we only have to look an what they've done to the swine flu vaccine debacle, not to mention endless other government run program failures.
MSNBC — what a benchmark.
Oh FFS, they are going to tax toothbrushes as a *medical device*. WTH is wrong with people who allege to have more than a 5th grade education?
scott_z, life is an assumption of risk. If you get hurt at work, you only get a percentage of your salary under worker's compensation, up to a maximum, and the difference could spell bankruptcy. If you simply lose your job, you only get a percentage of your salary under unemployment compensation, up to a maximum, and the difference could spell bankruptcy. Those are safety nets.
The government (aka TAXPAYER MONEY) is not your SunTrust Bank. (well, maybe they are in your case). Personal responsibility cannot be outlawed, much to your chagrin.
Well said, KMH. We live in an era on non-responsibility, which is why we are in this mess —
Running up credit and debt irresponsibily being first and foremost.
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can you tell me i am wrong? please explain. it's not a broken record, if it's true.
that just makes it a human tragedy.
all you said there is that we have the best medical schools in the world.
this is logically orthogonal to having the best healthcare in the world.
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pre-existing conditions, is that like pre-existing accidents, do you purchase car insurance after you have a accident? why does a insurance company need to pay for you after you get sick. most insurance companies i have seen will write a policy, but will have a long wait for coverage of a pre-existing condition. so you are covered for anything else you might get, but not what you have now before they start coverage. insurance companies need to turn a profit to entice investors, no profit, they go under. the government does not need to turn a profit, as long as they can keep changing the definitions of rich, by next year 250 grand will be changed to 200 bucks. and if the money runs out, and it will, then they get to decide who gets what care, sorry grandma no operations for you, how about some asprin.
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Obamacare = something for nothing in the minds of retards.
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"tort reform AND health reform together would have created too many enemies. such a bill would never pass through congress and special interests. Unfortunately in the current political climate, these must be addressed separately"
My family has over 80 years of clinical intensive care experience – globally. When some say we have the best health care system in the world it's kind of like saying democracy is the worst form of government and it's the best out there.
My father ended his career early because of the risk of frivolous litigation. Guys like that aren't easily replaced. ( Spare me the BS company line that has been crafted by the personal injury lawyer lobby. You know guys like John Edwards.) I know a case that involved a Ventura County jury protecting a Ventura County hospital from liability which shows why the average Joe on the street should not be hearing medical malpractice cases.
And if ""tort reform AND health reform together would have created too many enemies" so then let's just take tort reform off the table is twisted logic. Which "enemies" are we talking about? Defensive medicine – I know first hand – is a HUGE problem. Medical professionals walk on eggshells because of crooks like John Edwards.
Your own logic perpetuates fraud in the health care system. And apparently you condone it. Protect the poor lawyers who are in bed with the DNC.
YOU SAY "unfortunately in the current political climate, these must be addressed separately. " WHY? Because you say so. Who are you?
"what are your credentials again?" Good question. What are yours?
"But how else can we possibly cover more people with limited resources at a lower cost without raising the deficit as this bill promises?"
Good question Doctor. But really I don't think that is the issue.
scott_z posts that "tort reform AND health reform together would have created too many enemies. such a bill would never pass through congress and special interests. Unfortunately in the current political climate, these must be addressed separately."
I think what many who support this POTUS and this reform are worried more about "too many enemies" so there is very little precious time to get it right. How could we possibly get anything right in a bill that is about 2000 pages long? Maybe it should be longer.
Steven Hayward & Erik Peterson have shown that at its start, in 1966, Medicare cost $3 billion. The House Ways and Means Committee estimated that Medicare would cost only about $ 12 billion by 1990 (a figure that included an allowance for inflation). This was a supposedly "conservative" estimate. But in 1990 Medicare actually cost $107 billion.
$12 Billion. $107 Billion. Hell who's counting. There are just "too many enemies" to worry about.
"tort reform AND health reform together would have created too many enemies" so then let's just take tort reform off the table is twisted logic. Which "enemies" are we talking about?
the hundreds of millions of $$$ in lobby money both have to sustain the status quo. you get two titans together, you are literally talking a billion or two against reform. to post ads on the air complaining of fictional death panels, you name it
"Defensive medicine – I know first hand – is a HUGE problem.."
agreed. totally agreed. completely agreed.
"re-existing conditions, is that like pre-existing accidents"
NO.
it means you pay for an insurance plan through your employer.
then, you or a family member gets sick with a horrible costly medical trauma. say, cancer.
THEN, the company you work for goes out of business. you find yourself out of a job. and out of insurance as a result.
THEN, you get a new job. and a new health care plan.
BUT, you have a pre-existing condition, CANCER, that was discovered on your old plan.
SO, you cannot get any health care, no matter how much you are willing to pay for it.
peteee: THAT is what a pre-existing condition means, and you and your family are as susceptible to it as any of the millions of red blooded Americans who had heath care and have declared bankruptcy as a result.
It's ridiculous to argue that health care reform, and a component of health care reform (i.e. tort reform) are too big an issue combined to tackle simultaneously. They are intertwined. Neither is tort reform on its own incapable of being enacted – Texas has managed to pass tort reform, and lowered health care costs.
If the argument here is that our elected representatives can't vote to represent their constituents, but are instead at the mercy of the big, bad, rich lobbyists, then we need to be electing some new representatives. Who, after all, has the opportunity to vote and pass legislation? (Here's a clue – it's not the lobbyists.)
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article1...
"It's ridiculous to argue that health care reform, and a component of health care reform (i.e. tort reform) are too big an issue combined to tackle simultaneously"
NO it is not. You have yet to refute my arguement. you say "we need to elect new representatives???" here's the problem. We all love *OUR* representatives; but hate congress as a whole. consider this:
401 of the 435 sitting members of the U.S. House of Representatives sought reelection. Of those 401, all but six were reelected
http://www.cusdi.org/reelection.htm
that is exactly because the money the receive from big lobby $$$ KEEPS them in power.
yes they are intertwined, but if you tackle both at the same time, you have BOTH hundreds of millions in health care lobby money, AND hundreds of millions of law lobby money. and that makes BILLIONS.
money does equal influence.
if you got mad at people sending pretzels to Bush after the chocking incident, you should be very ashamed at yourself right now.
even if you didn't. you should still be very ashamed at yourself right now.
You're hung up on the bankruptcies! Our country is headed towards bankruptcy and you think a trillion dollar health care bill is a good idea? How bout zeroing out on the deficit, reducing Obma's massive budget and then we'll talk health care reform.
Trouble is with the current administration that will never happen. Massive deficits/budgets/enormous government take overs are the new norm.
You really need to stop playing devils advocate on this forum. Scott_z is turning into Scott_zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
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it has to do with lawyers stepping up to make gobs of money, it has to do with government stepping up to protect the lawyers, it has to do with why do I need 43 tests for a sore toe(because the doctor can get sued out of existence) it has to do with the damn government consisting of lawyers protecting their own. it has to do with – we let this happen – it has to do with we have to fix it – it has to do with now that we`re trying to fix it wormy lil folks like you whine about not getting taken care of by others who actually earn what they have. handle your spot. speak up and help or shut up and sit down.
I agree with the Dr, tort reform an buying insurance across state lines would make a better health care system.
One of the doctor's comments, specifically about the limited number of providers that will exist is right on. I am in the healthcare delivery industry and we are experiencing what is known as the " national competitive bidding program" which is going to eliminate 50 – 70% of the medical equipment providers around the country. Limited choices for all of us! Pucker up Peteee and plan on kissing the ass of uncle sam for the rest of your life, if your healthy enough to pucker that is
don't get me wrong, i am dead set against the proposed law, but this dr.'s arguments are flawwed. we need to see the government completely out of health care. competition will bring down costs, but real competition, not a government option. we need to be able to buy the insurance we want, across state lines, and for what conditions we want. i am not considering transgender surgery, or other such nonsence. i just want a burst appendix, or heart surgery covered. now do you get it?
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Obama said that he would correct and reduce the amount of fraud in the Medicare system in order to save money….What's up with that? Is he going to wait until the next election cycle to do that?
I don't think anyone here would disagree that the quality of healthcare available in the USA is hands-down the best in the world. The numbers prove it, and no one can refute it. Our healthcare system is not broken, it's just expensive.
Frivalous lawsuits are a huge factor in the cost of healthcare, and should be dealt with.
But to say that the system is broken is completely innaccurate. Afterall, there are only about 10% of Americans that are unable to benefit from the current system. Call me crazy, but if the system is working for 90% of the population, it seems like it's working pretty darn good.
If the administration really just wanted to take care of the uninsured, they could easily take the trillion dollars from this bill and buy Cadillac insurance plans for the 10% of uninsured Americans. That would take care of the "uninsured."
This is really about power. The liberal mindset is to keep the people dependent on the government. If they're dependent on you, then they'll vote for you. Obama is looking to secure 10's of millions of votes for Democratic candidates for decades to come. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I think it's pretty obvious.
This legislation obviously has next to nothing to do with fixing the current healthcare system, because as was previously stated, they could just take that $1,000,000,000,000.00 and buy health insurance for all the uninsured in America, instead of this ridiculous notion that the entire system is broken and that we need to provide universal healthcare for 100% of Americans.
Send the Health Care reform bill to the GRAVE YARD!
Send Obama back to his Daddy!
Hi,
I work for a health videos website icyou.com. I wanted to add to the discussion by offering up a couple of links to videos for those of you looking for more information about healthcare reform. Take a look at these videos for information and insight regarding reform efforts:
http://www.icyou.com/topics/politics-policy/healt...
http://www.icyou.com/topics/politics-policy/healt...
http://www.icyou.com/topics/politics-policy/healt...
check back at icyou for more health-related videos…we update daily!
Thanks,
Laura
The simple truth is this Scott: This bill that was supposedly crafted in the House is geared towards providing "reform" for special interests such as ACORN and SEIU members. The whole thing needs to be scrapped. The American people need real reforms that are not written by special interest groups. H.R. 3962 is NOT the answer to our health care woes, that's for sure.
Scott,
I am an Endocrinologist in Eau Claire Wisconsin. Here is my profile :
http://www.marshfieldclinic.org/patients/?page=pr...
So your solution for reforming tort liability in this country is to ignore it???
First of all if you purchase health insurance as an individual, you do not receive a tax incentive unlike employers who purchase it for you. This does not give you a choice of insurers or plans.
If you have a high deductable insurance plan, the same money that would be taken our of your check post tax to pay for insurance would be taken out pre tax and put in a savings account. You can have a high deductible plan and have cancer without being penalized. Not sure what you are saying?
Ok, so I'll play the devils-devils-advocate.
If THAT is the problem you want to solve, why not solve THAT problem? Why is it necessary to do the largest and most costly power grab in American History? Just do something to address that problem.
The reality is, those bankruptcy cases and catastrophic cases represent a tiny fraction of America as a whole. So if we are soooooooooo worried about solving that problem, why not solve THAT problem? It would cost a whole lot less. But they won't discuss that …. why? Because it's not the real objective. Liberal "compassion" is all a lie.
I'll give you a precedent: Social Security. I remember listening to Ronald Reagan (as an Actor) speaking against Social Security. When social security was enacted, there was again a problem like this "healthcare" problem: a small percentage of Seniors weren't properly prepared for retirement. So what was the solution?
A confiscatory program that forced everyone into a huge government program, took away liberties and privacy from the individual. (Consider: this is where your unique Social Security Number came from. This number made tracking you individually by the government, credit beureau's and others a breeze. It was an invasive grab of personal privacy).
Before it was passed, whenever anyone voiced opposition to it the "compassionate" liberals shouted them down "You want these Seniors to stay home and eat cat food??" — which of course no one was saying.
So now we have an oppressive and nearly bankrupt social security program foisted upon all of us. And we still have old people that don't plan for retirement, in fact THE PROBLEM IS WORSE NOW THAN IT WAS WHEN SOCIAL SECURITY WAS ENACTED. The false sense of "the government will take care of me" has led many more of the children of the 60's to fail to properly plan for retirement. They CREATED the exact problem they were trying to fix!!
So my response to you: No one on the right refutes that there is some work that needs to happen to the laws. There have been recommendations and bills provided by the right. Most of the problems come directly out of government regulations.
But, take your dishonest sense of "compassion" somewhere else, because I think America is starting to realize it for the excrement that it is. "Compassion" is a tool for socialist liberals to gain power and advance the intrusions of government.
The prior question is why are the costs so high to drive so many to bankruptcy? Why are surgery rates for similar issues so much cheaper with veterinarians?
If the answers are: 3rd party payers, malpractice abuse and market distortion from massive government involvement in the health related economy, shouldn't we address those as a means of addressing bankruptcies?
I would like to see medicaid changed to give aid recipients a federally funded benefits debit card and a voucher for a catastrophic policy. Some kind of annual incentive (such as an annual cash 'rebate') might encourage beneficiaries to use the benny card frugally.
Medical savings accounts (MSA) should be limitless, tax free and transferable to heirs or designees, in part or in whole.
We are going to have to compromise in our direction. Begin with MSAs and high deductibles. Give tax incentives to companies and individuals who move into this model.
We have to educate. We don't make auto insurance claims for brake jobs and new tires, do we? We need to insist everyone understand what insurance is meant to do and what it is not meant to do.
Wake up America! It's not about health care! it's about controling your life. Plain and simple! The4y want to be able to tell you what to do in all aspects of your life. don't be fooled into believeing these politains care about you. They go where the money is. Acorna and its afilliates have give billions to the politains to ensure their reelections and the laws that will give them control over our basic freedoms. Wake Up America! All you have to lose is your life, liberty and happiness!
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