Waiting and Seeing
I'm a sporadic participant in Grand Rounds. I don't submit every week, but now and then, when I've written something I think is especially cogent, I'll sent it along. This week, I decided one of my recent posts was Grand Rounds-worthy, so off it went.
Unfortunately, I missed the fine print about this week's theme, which is Health Care Reform.
I haven't bothered writing much on my blog about "health care reform" for a couple of reasons. First, no one's doing a damn thing about actual "health CARE reform"; the whole thing is all about health INSURANCE reform, and the sloppy syntax has really been pissing me off. Second, Americans don't seem to understand the concept of "insurance" in conjunction with health care, so the robber baron "insurance" companies are basically medical payment brokers.
The real problem with American health care is Americans, who demand the latest, biggest, and shiniest, balk at having to pay for it, and feel entitled to monetary gain through litigation whenever something goes wrong. I've seen enough things come and go (managed care, capitation, vertical integration) in my twenty years of solo practice that my tried and true strategy is to wait and see.
That's my take on the recent Federal goings-on.
posted by #1 Dinosaur @ 6:08 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
At last, some sensible words from a Doctor about American Health care -"The real problem with American health care is Americans, who demand the latest, biggest, and shiniest, balk at having to pay for it, and feel entitled to monetary gain through litigation whenever something goes wrong. " I have always wondered how poor Americans cope.... I suspect they don't. I work for the NHS, it is by no means perfect but at least we have care regardless of ones wealth.
Thank you so much! Sometimes I feel like the only one calling it what it is, Health Insurance Reform. And every time I see somebody write HCR? I automatically wonder why they are talking about the Secretary of State (HRC)!
Dino
If the politicians labeled the "effort" correctly, the enthusiasm and as a consequence the support, would be less.
When I am asked if "HCR" is good or bad my responses is as follows:
Medi-Caid doesn't work well now, how will more people on Medi-Caid be better?
In my state (CA), ~ 70% of the physicians do not take Medi-Cal-Again, more insured folks that can not find a doctor to care for them-how is that a good thing.
And for my red-neck friends the explaination is-The Gov't gives you a gas card-you are out of gas and there are no gas stations-how valuable is that gas card?
Bravo, Dino. As an FP for 30 years in the military, private practice and currently a Community Health Center, I agree completely. There are a lot of areas in which I have strong opinions but this health INSURANCE reform addresses few of them and not the fiscal issues with which the President opened the debate. I loved your book. Keep just blogging within the real world within which you work and provide CARE.
Dino-I agree with your comments.
You inspired me to write about this:
http://lockupdoc.com/2010/03/thoughts-on-the-health-care-reform-bill/
“……UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) agreed to pay $912 million to settle two class-action lawsuits regarding its stock-options practices……” WSJ
Rewind to last year in the New York Times:
“In one of the largest corporate pay give-backs ever, William W. McGuire, the former chief executive of UnitedHealth Group, has agreed to forfeit at least $418 million to settle claims related to back-dated stock options.”
How very sad! $418 million is a lot of money!
“The payback is on top of roughly $198 million that Mr. McGuire, an entrepreneur who built UnitedHealth, had previously agreed to return to his former employer.”
Yes, it is Health Insurance reform.
The Cockroach Catcher
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