Op-Ed Obama is not a scientist. JAMA shouldn't pretend he is

latimes.com ^ | July 18, 2016 | Alex Berezow and Tom Hartsfield

[PROCON]

The Journal of the American Medical Assn. recently published a very unusual article: a scientific study authored by a sitting president of the United States. That’s never happened before.

In a sense, it’s cool that President Obama cares enough about science to want to publish a paper in one of the world’s leading medical journals. But JAMA has set a bad precedent. The article, on healthcare reform in the United States, is problematic not only in its content but in the threat it poses to the integrity of scientific publishing.

Let’s set aside the debate on whether the specific numbers in the article are factual. (Of course, there is certainly room to question Obama’s data. The president writes that “[t]rends in healthcare costs … have been promising,” even though healthcare spending per capita continues to increase.)

[PROCON]

The bottom line is that the president of the United States patted himself on the back and mocked his political opponents in a highly prestigious scientific journal. No scientist or doctor would have been allowed to publish what he published. It is difficult to fathom what JAMA was thinking.

JAMA was thinking the same way the Nobel Prize committee was thinking 8 years ago when they awarded 0bama with a peace prize after having done absolutely nothing to earn it.

[rjsimmon]

Liberals crawl all over themselves waiting to felate this feckless POS.

[Zarro]

I was thinking exactly the same thing. Now both are irrelevant.

[Stevenc131]

Oh well, he’s been pretending to be a President for nearly 8 years now, in between vacations and golf outings that is.

[llevrok]

The Mullah might not be a scientist, but lest we forget- the other worst president of modern times, Jimmuh Carter, is a nuclear scientist.

[Tenacious 1]

Liberals crawl all over themselves waiting to felate this feckless POS.

If that means what I think it means, and the grammar is proper, I will add that to my repertoire. I have to go do some quick research.

[TigersEye]

JAMA is crap. It has been riding its reputation for decades now. They could let Pee Wee Herman write articles about the health affects of the outlaw biker life and it wouldn’t lower their standards any.

[Tenacious 1]

Fellate. The proper spelling for my assumption of your intent is Fellate. ;O)

[Rummyfan]

The president writes that “[t]rends in healthcare costs … have been promising,”

LOL! Every week another exchange shuts down. obamacare is the most expensive fraud ever perpetrated on the American people. President Trump should move to totally repeal it on Day One in office.

[Rummyfan]

Liberals crawl all over themselves waiting to felate this feckless POS.

I just don't get it. What do they see in him??????

[KSCITYBOY]

btt

[ifinnegan]

I guess, generally, people who use such base similes or metaphors are of low character and matching intelligence.

[PROCON]

Yes, JAMA allowing 0bama’s paper to be published is nothing more than a form of paying reparations to appease their white guilt.

[Tenacious 1]

It should be noted that the government’s definition of “improving” has been bastardized. In government speak, it is now the norm to suggest something is improving simply when the rate of damage inflicted by policy is “slowing down”.

The deficit is improving when we are going deeper into debt at a slower pace than some time previous. We are reducing debt when the debt is not growing as fast. The employment rate is improving when less people are looking for employment OR when people are losing jobs as a slower pace than previous.

So when Obama speaks about improving health care costs, it should be noted, and he has clarified, that the costs are not rising as much as they otherwise would had he not forced on us.

[PROCON]

What do they see in him??????

It's intellectual reparations in order to appease their white guilt.

[PGR88]

JAMA has just revealed themselves as another corrupt, bought-and-paid-for-progressive-crony-capitalist organization.

[ifinnegan]

This really is dictator/Great Leader stuff.

It is clearly scientific misconduct to claim he is the sole author.

The whole thing is a fraud and should leave everyone with a very uneasy feeling.

The LA Times is right to point this out and I did not think they had it in them to do so.

—

United States Health Care Reform
Progress to Date and Next Steps

Barack Obama, JD1
[-] Author Affiliations
1President of the United States, Washington, DC
JAMA. Published online July 11, 2016. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.9797

ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT | INTRODUCTION | IMPETUS FOR HEALTH REFORM | PROGRESS UNDER THE ACA | BUILDING ON PROGRESS TO DATE | LESSONS FOR FUTURE POLICY MAKERS | ARTICLE INFORMATION | REFERENCES
Importance The Affordable Care Act is the most important health care legislation enacted in the United States since the creation of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. The law implemented comprehensive reforms designed to improve the accessibility, affordability, and quality of health care.

Objectives To review the factors influencing the decision to pursue health reform, summarize evidence on the effects of the law to date, recommend actions that could improve the health care system, and identify general lessons for public policy from the Affordable Care Act.

Evidence Analysis of publicly available data, data obtained from government agencies, and published research findings. The period examined extends from 1963 to early 2016.

Findings The Affordable Care Act has made significant progress toward solving long-standing challenges facing the US health care system related to access, affordability, and quality of care. Since the Affordable Care Act became law, the uninsured rate has declined by 43%, from 16.0% in 2010 to 9.1% in 2015, primarily because of the law’s reforms. Research has documented accompanying improvements in access to care (for example, an estimated reduction in the share of nonelderly adults unable to afford care of 5.5 percentage points), financial security (for example, an estimated reduction in debts sent to collection of $600-$1000 per person gaining Medicaid coverage), and health (for example, an estimated reduction in the share of nonelderly adults reporting fair or poor health of 3.4 percentage points). The law has also begun the process of transforming health care payment systems, with an estimated 30% of traditional Medicare payments now flowing through alternative payment models like bundled payments or accountable care organizations. These and related reforms have contributed to a sustained period of slow growth in per-enrollee health care spending and improvements in health care quality. Despite this progress, major opportunities to improve the health care system remain.

Conclusions and Relevance Policy makers should build on progress made by the Affordable Care Act by continuing to implement the Health Insurance Marketplaces and delivery system reform, increasing federal financial assistance for Marketplace enrollees, introducing a public plan option in areas lacking individual market competition, and taking actions to reduce prescription drug costs. Although partisanship and special interest opposition remain, experience with the Affordable Care Act demonstrates that positive change is achievable on some of the nation’s most complex challenges.

---

Whole thing is here. It’s free as it should be.

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2533698

[Tenacious 1]

I guess, generally, people who use such base similes or metaphors are of low character and matching intelligence.

What? Are you French? Is this the subtle "reach-around" insult that a snobish boor might hurl? Shall we indulge in friendly quibble on the proper form of pontification when articulating the proper behavior of those of lesser intellect?

Lighten up.

[stylin19a]

reach-arounds are a courtesy, not mandatory

[TigersEye]

Well done!