Posted on 09/09/2004 7:21:48 AM PDT by AZLiberty
At a time when much of our public discussion is riddled with disagreement, there is an emerging bipartisan consensus in one vitally important area: that the challenges facing U.S. health care require major, transformative change. Some steps are already underway. Recently the Department of Health and Human Services announced a 10-year plan to build a new health information infrastructure. And while there is no consensus yet on all the changes needed, we both agree that in a new system, innovations stimulated by information technology will improve care, lower costs, improve quality and empower consumers.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
How to fix health care:
Offer government backed low interest student loans for medical professionals that can be repaid through three years of service in a rural or urban medical clinic, or two years of pharmaceutical research at a government or non-profit research facility.
Eliminate the state requirements for malpractice insurance. Also eliminate the laws that require emergency rooms to admit every poor minority child with a runny nose.
Open more medical/nursing/pharmaceutical schools.
Certainly, government has a job to do with leadership and federal investment in health information technology and quality standards. ...... The marketplace also has an important role.
Nice of them to give a nod to the marketplace, but the article essentially lays out what government must do to "improve" health care. And not once is it mentioned that it is precisely because of government interference that we have so many problems in the first place.
When both sides of the aisle collaborate in pushing for bigger government, the warning lights should go off. Remember, it was our Republican president who gave us the latest Medicare boondoggle.
People tend to think of medical bills as doctor bills, no matter how the bill reads. It is the cost of maintaining that staggeringly expensive infrastructure of a hospital that makes up most of your medical bill, not the doctor, who is just a technician like the other technicians.
Any controlling of health care costs have to do with hospitals, not with doctors. I'd gladly, gladly pay all doctors' bills out of pocket if I could feel secure that the hospitalization and outpatient treatments (just another kind of hospital, just no overnights) was covered.
I heard on the news that if we had HillaryCare in the USA, like she tried to shove down our throats, that Bill would have died while waiting in line for his emergency surgery. They also said American hospitals are full of patients from other countries who do have national healthcare, and they couldn't get the surgery they needed in time in their home country, so they came here.
I don't trust Hillary and I would NEVER, EVER get involved with her on legislation.
Looks like DOCTOR FRIST needs to hear what the public thinks about it.
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