Re: [Goanet] Solving Healthcare crisis in America - Part IV
* G * O * A * N * E * T C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S * Apartment for sale in Campal/Miramar area, Panaji, Goa. Spacious 3 bedroom flat (3BHK)available for sale in upscale area near Miramar beach Contact: goaengineer...@aol.com Date: Mon, 17 Aug 2009 07:10:26 -0700 (PDT) From: Santosh Helekar Congratulations on a well-argued position on health care! Are you the commentator Rad21 on the Huffington Post blog by any chance? Many of the ideas you express, and the statements you make are verbatim from his comments. Please see: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/users/profile/rad21?action=comments Mario observes: Santosh, I don't know about Rad21, but the Huffington Post has been Gilbert's favorite, if not only, source of information for quite some time now. I guess I may have to wait until Rad21 addresses the question I raised about whether forcing the private insurance companies to accept patients with pre-existing conditions, which would be like buying auto insurance after an accident, will effectively put them out of business: http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2009-August/181613.html Excerpt: Hey, Gilbert, If the government imposes an elimination of restrictions like pre-existing illness and demands guaranteed choice of coverage, why would people not wait until they had a serious illness before demanding to be insured, and paying for their own coughs and colds in the meantime? And what would that do to the actuarial estimates upon which sound insurance policies are based? Aren't such impositions a transparent method of putting private insurance companies out of business? [end of excerpt] Gilbert wrote: http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2009-August/181676.html Excerpt: The 47 million uninsured (27% of the population under age 65) Mario responds: This 47 million number of "uninsured" was clearly shown to be a gross exaggeration by far left wing demagogues of whom American taxpayers really need to use common sense and logic in helping. The actual number who cannot get health insurance through no fault of their own is more like 15 million which is 5% of all Americans: http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2009-August/181657.html Gilbert wrote: http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2009-August/181657.html Excerpt: the AMA has officially endorsed President Obama's efforts and other participants have promised cooperation. [end of excerpt] Mario responds: A dirty little secret is that Obama has no plan. He is riding on the coat-tails of plans being developed by the House and Senate while pushing for more government intervention in the health care system, some of which he is now backing away from. Thus, endorsing Obama's "efforts" is not the same as endorsing any specific plan, just a pious platitude: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26158.html Gilbert wrote: http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2009-August/181657.html Short-term, significant savings (i.e no additional dollars needed) can be achieved Mario responds: Perhaps if Gilbert were able to convince Obama to dump his knee-jerk ideology that the government can solve this issue instead of coordinating an effort to find a solution, we may get short term savings:-)) Unfortunately, the House plan that has been "scored" by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office says that the effect on the federal deficit will be $1.042 trillion over “ten years”, though the program really gets going in 2015 so its more like a 5 year score. I hope Gilbert and his cronies caught this little detail: THE PROGRAM REALLY GETS GOING IN 2015, SO THE FINANCIAL DAMAGE WILL TAKE PLACE AFTER OBAMA LEAVES OFFICE. YET HE WAS PUSHING FOR PASSAGE BY THE END OF JULY BEFORE ANYONE HAD HAD TIME TO EVEN READ ANY OF THE PROPOSALS BY SAYING THAT THIS LEGISLATION WAS SUPER-URGENT.
Re: [Goanet] Solving Healthcare crisis in America - Part IV
- BOOK RELEASE: Medieval Goa by Teotonio R. de Souza Will be re-released after 30 years on August 21, 2009 at 5:15pm at Goa Chambers of Commerce and Industry Hall, near Azad Maidan in Panjim, Goa http://medieval-goa.notlong.com - Date: Sun, 16 Aug 2009 06:09:47 -0700 (PDT) From: Gilbert Lawrence It is unfortunate that some leading politicians and news-media elect to demagogue medical care and hijack the debate on health reform. Mario responds: The biggest demagogue in the medical care debate is President Obama, who claims that his plan will improve the quality of healt care, cover 47 million uninsured - his plan will cover illegal aliens and those who can afford to buy health insurance but haven't done so - have no rationing, no Death Panels, and reduce the cost of health care in America: Poppycock, says libertarian, John Stossel, of ABC News: http://www.reason.com/news/show/135266.html Poppycock, says the conservative Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203863204574346530636332384.html Poppycock, says the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/25415.html Clearly, the US needs to find a way to provide health insurance to the 15 million or so hard core uninsurables. Clearly, as we see with other government run businesses like the Post Office, Amtrak, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, etc. and the experience of Canada and Britain, where care is rationed and nameless, faceless government bureaucrats often decide who gets coverage and who doesn't, for government to run the system is undesirable. Sadly, I believe this administration, driven as it is by far left wing ideology, will squander an opportunity to reform the system, because of the growing realization that their goal is not to reform the system but to impose a single-payer system on the US, regardless of its inherent flaws, with the kinds of overheated and bogus claims that independant observers are now discovering as we see in the links above. Recently, President Obama stepped on a cow cake, which he routinely does when not using a teleprompter, when he admitted that it is the government run Post Office that is always in trouble, whereas privately-run FexEx and UPS are doing fine. So, what did this President whose fawning sycophants claim is "brilliant" learn from his own example? That we need a government run health insurance system, like the government run Post Office, to compete with the thousands of private insurance companies that already exist. This is an example of what I mean when I say that his ideology trumps any logic or common sense. Unfortunately for this President, in this day and age, it is very hard to get away with saying one thing and doing another as we saw here: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Video-proof-Obama-wants-a-single-payer-system-52699182.html http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204409904574350400852801602.html
Re: [Goanet] Solving Healthcare crisis in America - Part IV
- BOOK RELEASE: Medieval Goa by Teotonio R. de Souza Will be re-released after 30 years on August 21, 2009 at 5:15pm at Goa Chambers of Commerce and Industry Hall, near Azad Maidan in Panjim, Goa http://medieval-goa.notlong.com - Gilbert, Congratulations on a well-argued position on health care! Are you the commentator Rad21 on the Huffington Post blog by any chance? Many of the ideas you express, and the statements you make are verbatim from his comments. Please see: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/users/profile/rad21?action=comments Cheers, Santosh --- On Sun, 8/16/09, Gilbert Lawrence wrote: > > Comprehensive Healthcare - > Empowering the front-line of Medical Care. > > Part IV > > Summary > > Healthcare reform has been compared to military base > closures. The latter necessary action, with political and > financial implications, stems from the country's changing > challenges and advances in military technology. Solving > only one aspect of the healthcare problem (like only the > uninsured) is merely a band-aid to treat the symptom. > It is time to over-haul the healthcare system, to make it > cost-effective and not a drag on the economy. It is > unfortunate that some leading politicians and news-media > elect to demagogue medical care and hijack the debate on > health reform. Those on the front-line of medical-care > should reclaim the issue; and stand-up to demagogues > of reform. >
Re: [Goanet] Solving Healthcare crisis in America - Part IV
This is the final of a four-part article posted on Goanet for general information. Constructive comments are most welcome; and will help me polish this article before I send it for publication. Comprehensive Healthcare - Empowering the front-line of Medical Care. Part IV Summary Healthcare reform has been compared to military base closures. The latter necessary action, with political and financial implications, stems from the country's changing challenges and advances in military technology. Solving only one aspect of the healthcare problem (like only the uninsured) is merely a band-aid to treat the symptom. It is time to over-haul the healthcare system, to make it cost-effective and not a drag on the economy. It is unfortunate that some leading politicians and news-media elect to demagogue medical care and hijack the debate on health reform. Those on the front-line of medical-care should reclaim the issue; and stand-up to demagogues of reform. Comprehensive healthcare should empower physicians and medical science to be the driving force of the system. The current cost-drivers are health-insurance, pharmaceutical, bio-tech, and bio-engineering companies, each led by corporate management and boards interested in their bottom-line; hospital and nursing home administrators; the medico-legal system, healthcare economists and consultants; all channeled through "physician orders." Many PCPs point out that patients, directing their own treatment options that are not indicated, contribute to higher costs; as do families reluctant to provide basic-care and support to their sick relatives. Each of these cost-drivers contribute to the current steep and unsustainable cost-curve. None of these cost-drivers are being addressed in the current debate in Washington, DC, or local town-halls. The current debate is adding to the fragmentation. Complex formulary of insurance and funding only makes the healthcare system more cumbersome and inefficient, adding further irrationalities and alien motivations within the system. And the goal of good patient care is lost in the shuffle. Physicians on both sides of the political-divide want reforms; the AMA has officially endorsed President Obama's efforts and other participants have promised cooperation. The challenge now is for organized medicine and doctors on the front-line of care is to have the discipline to "walk the talk." For too long physicians have been crowded-out, as they narrowly focused on protecting their shrinking turf. Some physicians, even at high echelons of power, have allowed themselves to be used to drive medicine in a wrong direction. It is the front-line of medical care (physicians, nurses and allied medical professionals) that will make-or-break the new comprehensive healthcare. That realization should help those who are literally and figuratively engaged in a struggle, in the current debate about "insurance" reform. They should rest and sleep peacefully, as much of what is developed will have little impact; unless those at the grass-root play a responsible and constructive role in delivering appropriate medical care, day-in and day-out. The old medical adage of "captain of the ship" continues to be an important principle, even in the 21st century; and the one who should be held responsible to "bend the cost-curve." Short-term, significant savings (i.e no additional dollars needed) can be achieved through reforming payments to insurance and drug companies; as well as providers (doctors and hospitals) by using "Best Practice" paradigms. Comprehensive Reform using a system of R&D will induce fundamental shifts, including life-style and societal changes; and place the healthcare cost-curve on a declining glide-path. Just as it took decades to reach the present state, it will take a generation to see the maximum benefits of healthcare reform, if we have the discipline to stay the course. The debate and this plan-of-action, even if it involves personal sacrifice, is also about the healthcare legacy individuals and this generation will leave to the next.
