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Obama's $80 Billion Exaggeration
Wall Street Journal ^ | 3/11/09 | JEROME GROOPMAN and PAMELA HARTZBAND

Posted on 03/13/2009 10:51:22 AM PDT by Nachum

Last week, President Barack Obama convened a health-care summit in Washington to identify programs that would improve quality and restrain burgeoning costs. He stated that all his policies would be based on rigorous scientific evidence of benefit. The flagship proposal presented by the president at this gathering was the national adoption of electronic medical records -- a computer-based system that would contain every patient's clinical history, laboratory results, and treatments. This, he said, would save some $80 billion a year, safeguard against medical errors, reduce malpractice lawsuits, and greatly facilitate both preventive care and ongoing therapy of the chronically ill.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 80; bho44; billion; demlies; exaggeration; obamas
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1 posted on 03/13/2009 10:51:22 AM PDT by Nachum
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To: SumProVita; HardStarboard; BradyLS; Ernest_at_the_Beach; dervish; Twotone; Free ThinkerNY; ...

The List, ping


2 posted on 03/13/2009 10:51:44 AM PDT by Nachum (the complete list at www.nachumlist.com)
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To: Nachum

A government claim of “savings” with a specific number attached is just made up out of thin air, and is never ever actually realized.


3 posted on 03/13/2009 10:52:59 AM PDT by henkster (0bamanomics: "I'll loan you all the money you need to get out of debt.")
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To: Nachum
What it means is that the government will make the decision as to what medical care if any you will receive and like the other national health care system in the world it could take several months to get a decision and if you need help right away there is a good chance that after that long you will not be there to get anything. And if you are a certain age they most likely will not allow any care period.
4 posted on 03/13/2009 10:58:13 AM PDT by YOUGOTIT (I will always be a Soldier)
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To: Nachum
"-- a computer-based system that would contain every patient's clinical history, laboratory results, and treatments. This, he said, would save some $80 billion a year,..

And only cost 300 billion a year. Marxist economics 101.

5 posted on 03/13/2009 11:01:12 AM PDT by Nathan Zachary
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To: YOUGOTIT

While I think having a database for medical records would streamline the process (with the appropriate amount of safeguards of course). Having some pencil pushing DC bureaucrat making medical decisions is ABSOLUTELY wrong.


6 posted on 03/13/2009 11:04:19 AM PDT by cups
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To: Nachum

Our health care system is the most expensive in the world. It’s also the best in the world- you get what you pay for. By lowering costs, you cannot help but lower quality and access. The libs claim that reduced costs are achieved by taking out the “abuse” of the system (i.e. fraud, overcharging, etc.). When you challenge a lib to explain where this fraud and waste is occurring, you often get responses like Medicare and Medicaid. As a followup question, I use “Those are both government-paid programs. How does INCREASING government-paid programs cause fraud/waste to go down? Isn’t it more likely to go UP?”
Still waiting for a rational response....

hh


7 posted on 03/13/2009 11:06:02 AM PDT by hoosier hick (Gotta go, millions of Obama supporters are counting on me to pay their mortgages)
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To: cups

You realize don’t you that this effort would be a no-bid contract awarded to Google as political payoff, but under the claim that “no one else can do it.”

hh


8 posted on 03/13/2009 11:07:40 AM PDT by hoosier hick (Gotta go, millions of Obama supporters are counting on me to pay their mortgages)
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To: hoosier hick

“It’s also the best in the world”

Where do you get that statistic? I can not find it anywhere.

....Bob


9 posted on 03/13/2009 11:10:49 AM PDT by Lokibob (When handed lemons...Refuse to sign for them. Life's lemons can't be delivered without a signature.)
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To: hoosier hick

According to Obama he is going to get rid of no bid contracts...

Hahahaha!

(Insert SARCASM here)


10 posted on 03/13/2009 11:15:26 AM PDT by cups
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To: Nachum
This, he said, would save some $80 billion a year, safeguard against medical errors, reduce malpractice lawsuits, and greatly facilitate both preventive care and ongoing therapy of the chronically ill.

The problem he ignores is some person has to enter that data, so human error still comes into play. This data is only as good as the person entering it.

11 posted on 03/13/2009 11:19:57 AM PDT by grb
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To: hoosier hick

“It’s also the best in the world”

The reason I ask is that there are lots of countries with higher live birth rates than the U.S. and lower death rates than the U.S.. I was wondering what other statistic one might use to compare countries health care.

....Bob


12 posted on 03/13/2009 11:23:26 AM PDT by Lokibob (When handed lemons...Refuse to sign for them. Life's lemons can't be delivered without a signature.)
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To: Nachum

So Obama lies. What else is new.

Obama lied, teh economy died.

Impeach them both!


13 posted on 03/13/2009 11:52:52 AM PDT by TBP
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To: hoosier hick
Our health care system is the most expensive in the world.

Actually not. I was listening to a health care expert yesterday on the Mark Levin show and if corrects the data for the manipulations of the government we are right in line with other countries with a longer life expectancy.

14 posted on 03/13/2009 12:43:16 PM PDT by Nachum (the complete list at www.nachumlist.com)
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To: hoosier hick
"When you challenge a lib to explain where this fraud and waste is occurring, you often get responses like Medicare and Medicaid. As a followup question, I use “Those are both government-paid programs. How does INCREASING government-paid programs cause fraud/waste to go down? Isn’t it more likely to go UP?” Still waiting for a rational response...."
Good point - good post ... just so you know that despite tangents taken by responses to your post - at least one FReeper got it. ;-)
15 posted on 03/13/2009 12:52:38 PM PDT by Tunehead54 (Nothing funny here ;-)
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To: cups
While I think having a database for medical records would streamline the process (with the appropriate amount of safeguards of course)

Streamline what process? The process of having your records posted on wikileaks? That will certainly be streamlined in addition to whatever you were thinking of.

There will be no public examination of safeguards. The only safeguards will be in preventing you from knowing who is reading your records.

It now becomes very easy to run a medical study on the unsuspecting. Just have the central server pick who does and doesn't get access to a new medical procedure. Or start denying access to a previously approved procedure, to see if it was really doing any good.

Sorry, but this is a lit match and we are handing it to idiots standing in a gasoline puddle.

16 posted on 03/13/2009 12:57:49 PM PDT by slowhandluke (It's hard work to be cynical enough in this age)
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To: slowhandluke

“It now becomes very easy to run a medical study on the unsuspecting. Just have the central server pick who does and doesn’t get access to a new medical procedure. Or start denying access to a previously approved procedure, to see if it was really doing any good.”

Ummmm, conspiracy theory much???


17 posted on 03/13/2009 1:01:50 PM PDT by cups
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To: Lokibob

That’s based on the number of foreign nationals that come here for treatment, as well as the number of committed ex-patriots that come back to have babies, consult with specialists, etc. Why would they go anywhere other than where they KNOW they’ll get the best care?

hh


18 posted on 03/13/2009 1:52:04 PM PDT by hoosier hick (Gotta go, millions of Obama supporters are counting on me to pay their mortgages)
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To: Lokibob

I would attribute live birth levels and death rates to the overall health of the mother, rather than the health care system. (In my mind) I can claim that the overall health of mothers in other countries is better than ours without holding that against our health care system.

hh


19 posted on 03/13/2009 1:55:28 PM PDT by hoosier hick (Gotta go, millions of Obama supporters are counting on me to pay their mortgages)
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To: hoosier hick

OK, so a mothers health is the cause of the healthier babies. Now where do you suppose a healthier mother comes from? Must be the healthy life style of living in the jungles of Panama, because their live birth rate is double ours. And, by the way, the Panama death rate is 1/2 of ours.

....Bob


20 posted on 03/13/2009 2:16:54 PM PDT by Lokibob (When handed lemons...Refuse to sign for them. Life's lemons can't be delivered without a signature.)
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