February 25th, 2010 by BobDoherty in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
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It looks as if President Obama’s plans for a February 25 bipartisan summit on health care will move forward, even as Republican leaders continue to express reservations.
The kicker is that the President is asking the GOP to show how it would “put a stop to insurance company abuses, extend coverage to millions of Americans, get control of skyrocketing premiums and out-of-pocket costs, and reduce the deficit” (italics added by me). Many Republicans don’t view expanding coverage as a principal goal of health care reform. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The ACP Advocate Blog by Bob Doherty*
February 18th, 2010 by BobDoherty in Better Health Network, Health Policy
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Tom Toles’ editorial cartoon in todays Washington Post says it all.
Washington has become a place where nothing can move, advance or happen. Having been paralyzed by a huge snowstorm over the weekend, the federal government has been closed since Monday, our roads are clogged with unplowed snow, our Metrorail system won’t run above-ground trains, the schools are closed (until June, it seems)–and to top it off, another 10-20 inches of snowfall is expected in the next 24 hours. (Yes, our trains really don’t run when we get more than a few inches of snow. You Chicagoans can stop laughing now.)
Of course, the snow and ice will eventually melt, and Washington will get back to normal. Not so the partisan gridlock that apparently will prevent anything from getting done even when the government reopens for business. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The ACP Advocate Blog by Bob Doherty*
January 26th, 2010 by BobDoherty in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
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One of my favorite movie scenes is from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” when an unfortunate soul pleads with the designated collector of corpses (this being after the plague, mind you) that “I’m not dead … yet.” The collector responds by whacking him on the head … until he is, in fact, quite dead.
This scene comes to mind as I blog about yesterday’s stunning GOP upset of the seat-that-used-to-be-held-by Ted Kennedy. If the election of Republican Scott Brown didn’t quite kill off health care reform, some Democrats are quite willing to complete the task. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The ACP Advocate Blog by Bob Doherty*
October 26th, 2009 by DrRich in Better Health Network, Health Policy
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As the great campaign to reform the American healthcare system heats up and enters an important new phase – the phase in which key legislative leaders take the five bills that have been passed, here and there, by sundry Congressional committees, and, behind closed doors, attempt to cobble together a compromise bill which they believe they can threaten and/or bribe a majority of Congresspersons into supporting – many Americans find themselves confused about what it all means. What, after all, are we attempting to accomplish here? How much will it cost, and who will pay for it? Why does the whole process seem so darned difficult and confusing?
Fear not. As a public service, DrRich will now explain healthcare reform in a very simple way, so that – whether you study the issue closely on a day-to-day basis, or just accidentally come across some relevant headlines now and again as you look for the sports page – you will always know what’s going on. For, once you understand a few key concepts, this thing is really pretty easy to follow. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Covert Rationing Blog*
September 28th, 2009 by DrRich in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
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Is healthcare a right?
DrRich has visited this question before, but it keeps being raised by readers of this blog, some of whom have decidedly settled views on the matter (either to the affirmative or to the negative), and who angrily accuse DrRich of having the wrong view (that is, either to the affirmative or to the negative). DrRich is sorry to have confused so many people regarding his stance on this important question.
So, is healthcare a right? Well, to paraphrase the last president who was widely held to be a paragon of nuanced speech (who, Lincolnesque, once noted that the truth of some assertion or other “depends on what the meaning of is is”), it depends on which meaning of “right” is right.
Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Covert Rationing Blog*
