Follow-up On Preventative Care
I am coming back from vacation today, but just as a quick note, Bruce McQuain has another good post on the current health care bills and Obama's press conference. In that post, he links two very good posts that provide more facts and discussion around my claim yesterday that health care savings from "preventative medicine" are mostly a myth. Those two posts are from a physician and from the Manhattan Institute.
And here is McQuain again on the CBO's testimony on the health care bills.
[Democratic Senator] Conrad: Dr. Elmendorf, I am going to really put you on the spot because we are in the middle of this health care debate, but it is critically important that we get this right. Everyone has said, virtually everyone, that bending the cost curve over time is critically important and one of the key goals of this entire effort. From what you have seen from the products of the committees that have reported, do you see a successful effort being mounted to bend the long-term cost curve?
[CBO director] Elmendorf: No, Mr. Chairman. In the legislation that has been reported we do not see the sort of fundamental changes that would be necessary to reduce the trajectory of federal health spending by a significant amount. And on the contrary, the legislation significantly expands the federal responsibility for health care costs.
Methinks:
Obama is a twit.
For an example of how this is going to work, look at Massachusetts. The whole system depends on going to your primary care physician to even ASK for a screening. There aren't enough primary care physicians for the current system which doesn't churn everything through them. If we start a new batch of students now, they only graduate in six years and that's not going to happen because there aren't enough physicians to teach them and the fact that the plan calls for lower payments to physicians serves as a bit of disincentive to potential doctors who can look forward to being overbooked. So, good luck even getting an appointment within 6 months to see your primary care physician to obtain one of these screenings even if have reason to believe you're sick. Once they diagnose you, you will be put on another list to see a specialist. It's the only way to cut costs. Just letting you die and denying you care is a great way to "bend the curve".
Now wonder Congress and Obama himself wants no part of his own "Better, Cheaper, Faster" healthcare.
July 23, 2009, 11:31 amAnon:
Elmendorf is a hero.
He just got a major dressing down by the Big O. You know his future in Washington was threatened.
I hope Elmendorf is able to stick to his guns.
July 23, 2009, 3:42 pm