Posted on 01/11/2009 1:37:09 PM PST by george76
Since being ousted from the U.S. Senate in 2004, Daschle has written extensively on health care. His recent book, Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis, might as well be a blueprint for the Obama Administration's position on health reform.
Unfortunately, the Obama-Daschle plan's assumptions are false, its details are alarming, and its results will ultimately be disastrous.
Government reimbursement rates already discourage doctors from accepting patients with government coverage. As the government program slowly becomes the only game in town, what then of physicians? Will they simply accept their fate? We can look to our north for a possible answer.
Canadians have "enjoyed" universal health coverage since the 1970s. They also enjoy the rationing of care. Both drugs and physicians are in short supply.
The governments of each province in Canada establish payment rates for physicians, and they're less than half what their American counterparts earn. Is it any surprise that 11 percent of Canadian-trained doctors pack up their stethoscopes and come to the U.S. to practice medicine?
Because there aren't enough doctors, Canadians must wait in line. Wait times for referrals from primary care physicians to specialists in Canada exceed 18 weeks -- twice what doctors consider clinically acceptable.
Daschle wants the government, not your doctor, to decide what the best treatment is for you. And he somehow equates cost-effectiveness with medical effectiveness.
Daschle wants to create a Federal Health Board (FHB) to make these medical decisions for us. He likens the FHB to the Federal Reserve, describing it as "a quasi-governmental organization" consisting of presidentially-appointed, Senate-approved governors.
(Excerpt) Read more at dcexaminer.com ...
“a much more “classist” health care system”
Yes. We want the Congress-care system for ours. Better yet, we want 1st Family coverage. At their prices.
Fiona! I wondered where you were! (Burn Notice)
I’m curious, where in the Constitution does it say the Fed govt has the power to do this?
Physicians will simply hang up there stethoscopes and take retirement, living off their investments and refusing to answer questions concerning health in any way. Medical students will drop out of the additianal training need to be qualified by medical boards, going to work as funds management specialists to pay off their accrued tuition bills they have incurred up to that point. The net effect is to drive the vast majority of medical practitioners out of the profession in far less than a generation.
It has already become almost criminal to practice medicine here in this country, and without adequate rewards, depending on someone to answer “the call” to become a doctor is a rather slender hope to maintain the ranks of doctors and other medical practitioners.
If you have not become sufficiently conversant with matters of your own health maintenence by the age of forty, you are either dead, or soon will be.
Yes, this is likely to be true
Many ongoing conversations to this effect in
Doctor's lounges across the country
Bronxboy, I get the feeling you and I agree on some things and disagree on others. I believe you are correct that the energy behind health care reform is the loss of American manufacturing jobs. I sense we disagree on why those jobs were lost in the first place and we may disagree why health care is so expensive today, and will be more expensive tomorrow.
America hasn't lost jobs because of NAFTA or other trade agreements. America has lost jobs because of over burdensome government regulations, high energy costs, powerful unions and their lobby in congress and automation. But, really that is a argument for another day and thread.
Health care, on the other hand, has an entirely different set of reasons in addition to some of the ones listed above. Tort reform is desperately needed to protect hospitals and doctors from blood sucking ambulance chasers. Greater incentive, not less needs to be given to people who purchase benefits themselves and to companies who provide it for their employees. And lastly, Obama is right in tackling the industries unwillingness to computerize and streamline it's records and billing abilities. I'm not sure I'll like what Barry comes up with, but anything will be better that what's happening today, which is nothing.
I disagree with that statement........."Anything" may not be better....in fact may be way worse than anyone imagined.
This is criminally under-reported here in the states. One needs look any further than Germany to see the effects of state-managed health care on Doctor availability. Germany is facing doctor shortages in many parts of the country and is facing even greater shortages of critical care physicians in the big cities.
I have yet to see any broadcast network air news coverage of the significant problems that come with state managed health care.
What gives you the impression that Barry or the Congressional Dems care about the Constitution?
Their progams will cripple everything.
You mean something like the Canada or England heaalth sysytem? Where will they go for health care if we asopt their systems?
I’ve already experienced what we can expect from Obama/Daschle care. My insurance company has refused to pay for a legend high blood medication I had used for years with excellent control of my blood pressure. I was told that I should try a a generic medication of the same drug class, but not the same medication. My doctor and I have been jockeying dosages and added diuretics for nearly two years without getting the same blood pressure control I had before. I am also experiencing some nasty side effects, yet my insurance company insists that this generic drug is an effective treatment. Welcome to Obama/Daschle care.
My point was that the health care system (private and government) has been criminal with respect to their information technology systems. It's a huge cause of unnecessary pain and expense for everyone involved - patients, doctors, hospitals and insurance companies. It needs to be addressed.
You are correct in some ways... I work in manufacturing and I have seen the trade abuses that other countries heap on American companies...trade is completely unfair at this point, fair trade would be a good thing-not what we have now. The problem with the trade agreements is they allow one sided trade-some are poorly negotiated and some are not enforced fairly.
I would love to see less regulation...I work in Auto’s so believe me cafe standards are killing us as well as other regulations, but this is not the problem...it really is trade. The Japanese were allowed to undercut our market by selling cars cheap-below cost in many cases here and making it up at home as they have trade barriers that keep American cars out of Japan. This the usual practice for the Japanese-think about electronics. It’s bad for the country to lose American jobs. Also, our tax codes encourage outsourcing...it’s a mess no doubt.
Insurance is a different story...I do not see how free market can work for health insurance. Insurance companies will never want to ensure older people or sick people. As it stands now, I must fight for every insurance claim...because it will be denied. Insurance companies know that some people won’t fight, and they don’t have to pay...I have seen Tort reform first hand in Georgia...a doctor left a towel in me for almost a year, nearly killed me...there is no mechanism in place as we speak to remove bad doctors. This doctor still practices medicine in Georgia and has injured two people that I know of; he came from Seattle where he killed four people and injured who knows how many. Like most issues, Insurance is complicated...Also, insurance companies have way to much power over doctors just ask anyone who suffers from long term Lyme disease...my wife is from Connecticut. Her niece has Lyme, My sis in law has been threatened by insurance companies...it’s a miracle the kid is still alive.
The bottom line is job losses will lead to socialism. I believe outsourcing, H1B visas, unfair trade and of course the financial meltdown has caused job losses that make socialism not only possible but likely.
But I won't be betting the farm on anything "good" or "better" coming out of it........
Criminal how?
Trade is just too long a conversation to get into in a Health Care thread, so I'll leave that alone.
"I do not see how free market can work for health insurance."
Well, we really don't know because we haven't had "free market" health care since the 1920's. I wouldn't argue that the government doesn't have some room to intervene with respect to the kind of people that are covered and setting the conditions in which they could be dropped.
Additionally, there is something wrong when Doctors have multiple negligence findings and are allowed to keep their licenses. My sense is this is a result from Doctors judging Doctors. Again, there may be some room for limited government intervention here. I would guess, however that there are satisfactory regulations already in place, but they're just not being enforced.
My point is that there is indeed room for either additional regulation or better regulation in our health care system. However, that's not the direction we are headed. We are headed towards a UK/Canadian style, government mandated, single payor system. That is going to be the death of high quality health care that most Americans have become accustomed.
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