March 22nd, 2010 by Debra Gordon in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
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My alarm clock is set to “radio” and my radio is set to the local NPR station. Now, I’m not one of those people who leaps out of bed when the alarm goes off. Instead, I lie in bed slowly waking up to about 15 or 20 minutes of the morning news.
This morning however, the news just made me want to pull the covers over my head and never get out of bed. That’s because the focus was healthcare reform, and the amount of misinformation — and, yes, I have to say it: stupidity — out there about what the current proposals will or won’t do is making me literally sick to my stomach. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at A Medical Writer's Musings on Medicine and Health Care*
November 30th, 2009 by EvanFalchukJD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
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I’ve spent the last few days with much of our European team, today in Madrid, Spain.
Here are a few quick observations, as the American reform process continues.
1. Every country’s health care system has developed in the unique circumstances of its history. That is, the health care system of each country is the result of a collection of changes, fixes, restrictions, reforms, market developments and whatever else has happened over the last several decades. The result in each country are systems that work better or worse, but which in most all cases are very confusing to the people that work in them or get care from them. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
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*
October 21st, 2009 by DrRich in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
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This past weekend, AHIP – the American Health Insurance Plan trade group – seemed to turn at last against healthcare reform. For nearly a year the AHIP stood silently by, and indeed often made noises in support of the administration’s reform efforts, despite being cast by reformers as the chief villains of American healthcare. Then suddenly, a few days ago AHIP released a study produced for them by Price Waterhouse Cooper which concluded that healthcare reform (at least as advanced by the Baucus Senate Finance Committee) would result in massive increases in insurance premiums for Americans.
Becoming an apostate has always been far worse than being a mere infidel, and the AHIP action (seen as a act of betrayal and not merely an expression of opposition) has invoked the wrath of the powers that be. Democrats and progressives everywhere have quickly responded. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Covert Rationing Blog*
September 16th, 2009 by DrWes in Better Health Network, Opinion
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This week, like many doctors in primary care, I was sent a request by the Social Security to provide “medical evidence” that one of my patients was disabled so they could collect Social Security benefits. As part of that request, I was asked to provide evidence since June 6th, 2007, that my patient qualified for disability on the basis of “alleged” diagnosis of “Heart Disease.”
I was asked to send “copies of records or a narrative report including diagnosis, medical history, laboratory findings, treatment and response to treatment.” Beyond this, I also had to include physical and emotional impairment assessments and a functional assessment of their ability to sit, stand, walk, lift carry, handle objects, hear, speak, travel, and wash their car, view films, and eat bon bons (well, kind of).
And for this copying, writing, mailing, collating what might I see from the government to compensate my time? Well, if I attach this invoice that requires a Federal Employee Identification Number filed through form W-9 available at www.irs.gov (yes, Virginia, this compensation is taxed), I might receive…
…drum roll, please…
… twenty dollars.
Now looking up the lowest paygrade of Social Security worker’s annual compensation of $29,726 and accounting for the 13 vacation days, 13 paid sick leave days, and 10 federal holidays they get paid, I estimate the least expensive Social Security employee makes a bit more than $16.50 an hour.
If we assume that the paperwork they just asked for takes about 2 hours collectively of office staff and doctor time, I think it’s clear that doctors’ payment for this service provided on behalf of our patients is substantially less than what the Social Security administration pays their own staff.
I wonder what else the government has in store for us.
-Wes
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
