November 2nd, 2010 by JenniferKearneyStrouse in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News
Tags: ACP Internist, American College Of Physicians, Election 2010, Health Care Reform, Healthcare Legislation, Healthcare Policy, Healthcare reform, Jennifer Kearney Strouse, Politics and Medicine
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All eyes are on today’s mid-term elections and how they’ll play out across the country. The results are likely to affect the recently enacted healthcare reform legislation, Politico reports. Although repealing the legislation would be difficult, Republicans may be able to challenge its implementation if they gain control of the House. Attempts to modify the law could require a delicate balance since, as noted by the Washington Post‘s Ezra Klein, some of its provisions, such as coverage for dependents age 26 and younger, are individually popular.
Reuters has published a Q&A on what the election results could mean for the healthcare reform law. The Wall Street Journal is asking readers to weigh in on whether the legislation is affecting their votes. (Politico, Washington Post, Reuters, Wall Street Journal)
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
November 2nd, 2010 by John Mandrola, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Humor, Opinion
Tags: Dr. John Mandrola, Election 2010, Fixing American Healthcare, Healthcare Administration, Healthcare reform, Medical Humor
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Have you ever thought: “What if I won an election and was put in charge of an administration?”
Halloween weekend seemed the perfect time for considering the fantasy (or some would argue the horror) of a DrJohnM administration. (Let it be known, I have some leadership experience: I lead local group rides with some success. A community organizer of sorts.) But for the sake of college-like dreaming, let’s consider government under my realm.
First off, clearly the present-day political costumes would have to change. There would be a ban on suits, ties (MRSA-spreading), and uncomfortable shoes. People think better if they are dressed in comfy clothes. It works for Google.
Of course, since I am a practicing doctor, a focus of my administration would be on healthcare reform. And like our current president, I would also have “expert” panels — only my “fix healthcare” panel would look very different. To illustrate these phenotypical differences, let’s consider some of my panel’s inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Panel exclusions:
Anyone with a 4.0 GPA. You are out. Sorry, there are plenty of other think tanks for you, in pretty cool places too, like Cambridge, Ann Arbor, and Palo Alto. A very wise retired urologist once told me that B students nearly always make better doctors, and surely those who tried other things in life (besides the classroom) will make better real-life decisions. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr John M*
November 2nd, 2010 by Jennifer Shine Dyer, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, Quackery Exposed, Research
Tags: Data Interpretation, Determinants of Health, Dr. Jennifer Shine Dyer, Factors to Health, General Medicine, Health MacDonald, Healthcare Policy, Healthcare Politics, Healthcare reform, Historical Intepretation, Individual Health Behaviors, Miasmaticians, Perceptions of Health, Public Health Pioneers, Public Health Quackery, Science Based Medicine, Socioeconomics, Traditional Science, What Determines Health, When Health Loses
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I recently read an article by Heather MacDonald entitled “Public Health Quackery” that has not left my thoughts since. The truth in regards to what determines health is being argued in the article.
At the heart of the article, MacDonald seeks to contrast the traditional science approach with the miasmatician approach to the fundamental question of the role of individual behaviors vs. socioeconomics on the determinants of health. MacDonald summarizes the miasmaticians’ beliefs of health determinants as being exclusively influenced by socioeconomics thereby dismissing any and all influences on health by individual behaviors.
Her primary argument in favor of the traditional science belief in individual behaviors as determinants of health is as follows: Traditional science bases assumptions of truth on data that is valid by scientific standards vs. miasmaticians’ assumptions of truth from biased, “flimsy” data. In other words, “quacky” ideas come from “quacky” data thus are not likely to be true. Read more »
November 1st, 2010 by EvanFalchukJD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion
Tags: Best Doctors, Boston Globe, Doctor Patient Relationship, Evan Falchuk, Family Medicine, General Medicine, Health Insurance, Healthcare Costs, Healthcare Incentives, Healthcare Law, Healthcare reform, Internal Medicine, Long Waits for Patients, New Doctors, New U.S. Healthcare System, Not Enough Doctors, Physician Recruitment, Practicing Medicine, Primary Care, Recruiting Doctors, See First Blog, Shortage of Primary Care Doctors, The Future of American Healthcare, Wait For An Appointment, Waiting To See A Doctor, White Coat Notes Blog
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You want to see a doctor? You’re going to have to wait. And I don’t mean like an hour in the office. I mean like 53 days.
It’s not some doomsday story from the future. It’s happening today here in Massachusetts. Massachusetts — the state whose 2006 law was the model for the federal healthcare reform law. Massachusetts — home to some of the world’s best medical centers and doctors. And, as the Boston Globe’s “White Coat Notes” blog reports, Massachusetts — home to doctor shortages and long waits to see a doctor:
When primary care patients do secure an appointment for a non-urgent matter, they have to wait to get in the door, the survey found. The average delay is 29 days to see a family medicine doctor, down from 44 days last year, and 53 days to see an internist, up from 44 days last year.
The report said shortages also exist in dermatology, emergency medicine, general surgery, neurology, orthopedics, psychiatry, urology, and vascular surgery.
But what about costs? If you make sure everyone’s covered, you’ve got the foundation for real cost control, right? Unfortunately, no. Healthcare costs have been booming in Massachusetts:
Costs are rising relentlessly for both families and for the state government. The median annual premium for family plans jumped 10% from 2007 to 2009 to $14,300 — again, that’s a substantial rise on top of an already enormous number. For small businesses, the increase was 12%. In 2006, the state spent around $1 billion on Medicaid, subsidies for medium-to-lower earners, and other health-care programs. Today, the figure is $1.75 billion. The federal government absorbed half of the increase.
So what are the lessons for the future of American healthcare? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
November 1st, 2010 by DrRich in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
Tags: Aging Population, American Healthcare, Annals Of Internal Medicine, Complete Lives System, Covert Rationing Blog, Discrimination Against the Elderly, Discrimination Against the Young, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, Dr. Rich Fogoros, General Medicine, Healthcare Policy, Healthcare reform, Hippocratic Oath, Medical Ethics, New U.S. Healthcare System, Older Adults, Progressive Healthcare Rationing, Progressivism, The Lancet, Utilitarian Ethics, White House Chief Advisor
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In prior posts, DrRich introduced his readers to Ezekiel Emanuel, M.D., Ph.D., brother of Rahm, eminent medical ethicist, and one of the White House’s chief advisers on healthcare policy. Dr. Emanuel was one of the authors of that recent paper in the Annals of Internal Medicine which admonished American physicians that resistance is futile. He has also famously called upon American physicians to abandon the obsolete medical ethics expressed in the Hippocratic Oath.
The reason the ideas (and pronouncements) of Dr. Emanuel are important is that he presumably will be a major “decider” in determining who will serve on the GOD panels, and how those panels will operate to advance his (and Mr. Obama’s) program of healthcare reform.
So, before we leave Dr. Emanuel to his important duties, let us take one more pass at the views he has expressed, regarding the direction of American healthcare, which we can expect to see manifested in government guidelines and policies in the coming years. In particular, and especially relevant to the subject of this blog, let us view how Dr. Emanuel would direct the rationing of our healthcare. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Covert Rationing Blog*
