Category: Single Payer Health Care

Experts See Peril in Bush Health Proposal – New York Times

Experts See Peril in Bush Health Proposal – New York Times

The economic rationale for Mr. Bush’s proposal is that too many people
have “gold-plated, deluxe” health insurance, which encourages them to use
excessive amounts of health care, driving up costs for everyone.
Many economists agree. But they doubt that Mr. Bush’s proposal would do much to hold
down costs or cover more people.

Really? Is that it? Too many people running up excessive bills for their healthcare?

Mr. Bush’s proposal differs radically from President Bill Clinton’s plan for universal coverage, but experts on health benefits said they were similar in one respect: In an effort to help the uninsured — about one-sixth of the population — they would upend the system that covers most Americans.

We have a system?

Representative John D. Dingell, the Michigan Democrat who is the chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, said, “The president’s proposal would do little to help the uninsured, but would undermine the employer-based system through which 160 million people get coverage.”

Almost tempting to pass whatever Bush sends down the pike, let the system implode, and then start over. Of course, that’s sort of how we got the country where it is right now, isn’t it?

Cheers.

JAMA — Lives at Risk: Single-Payer National Health Insurance Around the World, January 19, 2005, Orient 293 (3): 369

JAMA — Lives at Risk: Single-Payer National Health Insurance Around the World, January 19, 2005, Orient 293 (3): 369: “by John C. Goodman, Gerald L. Musgrave, and Devon M. Herrick (National Center for Policy Analysis), 263 pp, with illus, $70, ISBN 0-7425-4151-7, paper, $22.95, ISBN 0-7425-4152-5, Lanham, Md, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2004.”
The link is to the review of the book in the Journal of the American Medical Association by Jane Orient.
[Jane M. Orient, MD, Reviewer Association of American Physicians and Surgeons University of Arizona College of Medicine Tucson jorient@mindspring.com ]

and a reply…
JAMA — Single-Payer Health Systems and Statistics, July 6, 2005, Starfield and Morris 294 (1): 43

and a response…
JAMA — Single-Payer Health Systems and Statistics–Reply, July 6, 2005, Orient 294 (1): 44

And who is Jane Orient? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Orient
and the AAPS : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_American_Physicians_and_Surgeons
“The motto of the AAPS is omnia pro aegroto which means “all for the patient.”

Your moment of Zen.

AMA Policy Finder – The “Case” Against Single Payer

AMA Policy Finder – American Medical Association:

H-165.888 Evaluating Health System Reform Proposals
Our AMA will continue its efforts to ensure that health system reform proposals adhere to the following principles:
…”(2) Unfair concentration of market power of payers is detrimental to patients and physicians, if patient freedom of choice or physician ability to select mode of practice is limited or denied. Single-payer systems clearly fall within such a definition and, consequently, should continue to be opposed by the AMA. Reform proposals should balance fairly the market power between payers and physicians or be opposed. “

Awfully dogmatic, isn’t it?