Posted on 07/22/2009 11:24:53 AM PDT by LikeLight
Doctors start their careers with an oath: “First, do no harm.” Obviously, politicians don’t take an oath like that, because President Obama’s healthcare reform plan is the classic case of a “cure” that’s worse than the disease. But, tragically, misplaced belief in seven dangerous myths about the plan is deceiving many well-meaning people into supporting ObamaCare:
Myth #1: Everyone will have access to good healthcare.
It doesn’t take an economic whiz-kid to predict what happens when government gets involved in providing anything for free, or at a below-market price. The laws of supply and demand kick in and, next thing you know, more people want more of that thing. But, at the new low price, fewer people are willing to supply as much of that thing. So there is a shortage. And so there will be a shortage of medical care under the Obama plan. And when there is a shortage but prices aren’t allowed to rise, there is only one way to decide who gets the care: rationing. Some will get access to the care they need, but you may not.
Myth #2: Healthcare costs will be brought under control.
There is no economic or historical reason to believe more government entanglement in healthcare will lower the actual cost of providing the care. Yes, it is possible under ObamaCare for costs to patients to be lower in some cases, but that’s only the cost billed to the patient and it’s not the whole story. As proven time and time again by the government’s massive involvement in healthcare through existing Medicare and Medicaid programs, artificially low costs to patients only end up driving costs to taxpayers higher and higher. Even the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office is warning that costs will skyrocket if Obama’s plan is enacted. Under ObamaCare, costs
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(Excerpt) Read more at crosswalk.com ...
Stephen Bloom (LikeLight, FReeper Class of '98)
Well done - if only the derelict press [or complicit press as I was recently told] would do their job.
You’re doing it. Why don’t “they”?
ideology?
Like you suggest, ideology prevents the state-run media from doing their job. So we have to do ours. It's just a burden we need to pick up, or else nobody will.
This was kind of buried under the news of what Obamacare had in mind for veterans, but the fact she was thinking that way meant that she believed medical care on an Indian reservation would be as good as anywhere else, so just everyone could stop by the reservation first aid station on the way home from the casino and get heart surgery or something.
Indians would probably not agree with her.
That's another thing Obama doesn't understand about his bill ~ medical service in the United States are "quantized" for specific groups for some very good reasons. I'm just guessing the first time a white street whore tries checking into a Cherokee hospital the whole deal will go to the USSC which will find the whole thing UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
#5 is the primary one. It’s all about the profit incentive. If doctors, pharmaceutical companies, and scientists can’t make a buck off of their hard work, why bother? So the entire medical community will stagnate and ultimately grind to a halt.
The change is that nothing changes. Nothing gets fixed. Nothing gets better.
Say this passes. It will take a huge amount of time to get things switched over to however they want to run things. “Please bear with us during this time, we’re working to make things better.” But the thing is, it’s never done, there’s always changes, new things kick into effect, more changes haveto be made.
At least with private companies you can say enough. Notso with government. Going to sue the government plan because they screw something up? Sorry, sovereign immunity - you can’t sue the government, it’s in the fine print. And you can’t leave the plan once you’re in it, that’s illegal and we’ll fine your can if you go without insurance.
You forgot "punish the productive," but yeah you've got a good summary of ObamaCare there.
ObamaCare is a death sentence for medical innovation.
They’ll all go back to private practices and do house calls and take chickens or cash.
The tax system will punish the productive.
Can’t do all the reparations with just one change.
I have read the bill and I will be willing to say it will absolutely kill the private insurance industry.
We have all heard the “no new policies” unless you join the exchange clause that is in the bill. This simply says that you can keep what you have now, HOWEVER, if private carriers plan on issuing any new policies they have to join the exchange and abide by the rules of the exchange.
What happens once you are in the exchange? This is the part that no one is talking about. Private carriers must submit to a floor on their medical loss ratio. A medical loss ratio is a percentage of dollars spent towards health care costs received from premiums. In the 90’s it was in the 90% average across all companies. Most are in the mid 80’s now with some going as low as 50%. The floor will be set by the new “Health Choices Commissioner,” appointed by the president who will create and regulate the new exchange. If the MCC sets the medical loss ratio at 95%, any money beyond that will have to go back to the subscribers. Otherwise, this forces profit carriers into a not-for-profit role and greatly reduces competition - not to worry though, the government will be there to set price controls. The medical loss ratio is nothing new - California has been trying for years to set one.
Other things - carriers will have to go through another round of HIPAA type administrative cost reduction laws. HIPAA was estimated to cost billions to providers and carriers by the way. Also, when you hear Biden and Obama claim that the government can run Medicare cheaper than private carriers, keep in mind that Medicare claims management is outsourced to private carriers and pay lower than private reimbursement rates on procedures.
Exchange carriers must submit data to the federal government to prevent disparities among exchange plans - no word on what that data contains.
The very real prospect of doctors "going Galt" is ominous.
Another good summary of ObamaCare, but I would add: Everything gets worse.
Ah, you were looking at the big picture.
You don’t think reparations are going to come in a lump sum do you? Get whitey takes time.
Why do you think all the racism is hidden in the healthcare bill. Did you know health care needed to be race based.
First off, congratulations for doing more reading than our congressmen, senators and president, none of whom can possibly be bothered with something as trivial as reading the law they want to impose on the rest of us. And thanks also for your analysis of the deadly impact of ObamaCare on private insurance.
Most of my co-workers are saying they will leave the field and do something else.
Things are gonna get nasty ugly in healthcare if this passes.
US experiencing primary care shortage 'likes of which we have not seen'
"The reasons behind the decline in the supply of primary care physicians are multi-faceted and complex, Dr. Harris added. They include the rapid rise in medical education debt, decreased income potential for primary care physicians, failed payment policies, and increased burdens associated with the practice of primary care."
And research shows that the more PCPs, the better care of the population. So once this idiot narcissist get his deathcare bill passed, expect our quality of life to drop like a lead balloon.
Btw I was just asked last week to volunteer at a local free healthcare clinic, run by a church. This could be part of what makes America better - wonder if it is outlawed by the new deathcare bill?
I know, we're losing them in my region too, and it's an economically strong rural area with fairly convenient access to several large cities.
I have a very distinct feeling it will be, but on the bright side, it isn’t yet. ;-)
I don't want to take words out of Captain Obvious' mouth, but yes, it's just that, ideology and the MSM need to please their officials on the left. And the media in my area has been doing their job. They make this healthcare plan sound like the best thing since fire or the wheel. Done and done.
Like manna from some twisted version of heaven.
Yeah, like some twisted ‘Back to the Future II’, Biff Tannen reality. All askew.
Post-ObamaCare-Presser bump...
He pretty much said, once again, he wants to get the profits out of healthcare. That will be the death of innovation.
He said that, and accused doctors of ripping the tonsils out of kids for no reason but money.
Oh yeah, and in an unrelated note, he said cops are stupid.
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