Obamacare: The Worst Legislation Money Can Buy

Townhall.com ^ | November 2, 2013 | Mike Shedlock

[Kaslin]

Here's an exceptionally well written, on-target email from Claudette, an occupational therapist from Michigan, in response to my post Physical Therapist in NY Chimes in on Health Care Costs.

Claudette wants to "Put the Patient in the Driver's Seat".

Claudette writes ...

Hello Mish

I do not disagree with the PT who wrote to you about consolidation of hospital systems resulting in increases in cost of care, but there are other pertinent problems to consider.

For example, in the current system, the physician and hospital make more money if they perform more services...so there is an incentive to order more tests, do more therapy and generally "do more to make more".

Under the ACA, there should be one bundled payment per diagnosis/incident.

What I suggest is not new, or radical. Medicare instituted DRGs or Diagnosis Related Groups with inpatient day and dollar limits per diagnosis 38 years ago (I was just beginning to work as an OT then).

DRGs drastically cut the cost of inpatient care and spawned the development of new service models including inpatient rehabilitation centers, Homecare and rehab in nursing homes, none of which fell under the constraints of the inpatient DRG.

Was this good? Yes, getting out of the hospital earlier is less expensive and healthier. There is no better place to get really sick than in a hospital.

Healthcare will not be truly competitive or cost effective until the patient is the one in the drivers seat. The patient should be informed, empowered to make care decisions and should pay the bill.

The bill should be discussed and agreed upon before service, whenever possible. Service prices should be posted so that consumers can comparison shop.

Right now patients are the point of service but are not part of the decision process. ACA did not change that and, in my mind, that is its greatest shortcoming.

Claudette

Obamacare, the Worst that Money Can Buy

As I reflect on all the emails that I received, it is readily apparent that numerous healthcare professionals understand precisely what is wrong with the current system.

So, how come none of the numerous existing problems were fixed?

Five Reasons Obamacare Legislation Failed

1. Lobbyists wrote the ACA legislation. When Nancy Pelosi stated "We have to pass the health care bill so that you can find out what is in it", she was referring to you , me, and Congress. An extremely tiny number of people knew what was in the bill: lobbyists for hospitals, lobbyists for insurance companies, lobbyists for HMOs, and lobbyists for major pharmaceutical companies.
2. President Obama was more concerned about his legacy than anything else. He wanted Obamacare at any and all costs and was willing to sign any piece of legislation, no matter how poor.
3. Politicians in general do not have the public's vested interest in mind. They have their own reelection efforts in mind. That statement holds true regardless of which political party you support.
4. Lobbyists and industry PACs donate massive amounts of money to politicians from both parties. That is why we do not allow drug imports from Canada. That is why there is an explicit law that prevents government from bargaining with drug companies on prescription drugs. That is why the US pays the highest drug costs and highest healthcare costs of any nation on the planet.
5. Republicans for the most part were more concerned over stopping Obamacare than improving the healthcare of citizens of the United States. The irony here is Obamacre is essentially the same as Romneycare.

So here we are, stuck with the worst legislation imaginable.

As Claudette suggests, we need to put the patient in the driver's seat. Unfortunately that is in the vested interest of only the patient.

Who speaks on behalf of the patient? The sad answer is all too apparent: no one that the president or Congress listens to. They are all beholden to lobbyists, their legacy, and their reelection campaigns.

[McGavin999]

The irony here is that the ACA may be the death of the insurance companies, the destruction of the medical industry, and the enslavement of the pharmaceutical companies. In other words, those lobbyist sowed the seeds of their own destruction.

[Liz]

Five reasons Why Obamacare Failed should have included: billion
dollar pay checks to Obama cronies, insiders, and Mrs O's classmate,
for the failed enrollment web site.

================================================

Not to worry, taxpayers---"cutting edge" govt factotums are fixing the web site.

OBAMA CALLS Mrs O: "Before she pocketed some of the billion dollars,
your pal shoulda told us they didn't teach web site construction at Princeton."

SECY SIBELIUS TO OBAMA: "While you're on your brick phone,
order a few more cases of these helpful floppy disks. "

[oh8eleven]

Republicans for the most part were more concerned over stopping Obamacare than improving the healthcare of citizens of the United States.
There it is - the Republicans fault! Damn that GWB.
When the hell did politicians switch from running the government to running Americans' lives?

[Jim Noble]

The irony here is that the ACA may be the death of the insurance companies, the destruction of the medical industry, and the enslavement of the pharmaceutical companies

Why is that ironic?

That's the ACA's whole purpose.

[steelhead_trout]

“4.Lobbyists and industry PACs donate massive amounts of money to politicians from both parties. That is why we do not allow drug imports from Canada. That is why there is an explicit law that prevents government from bargaining with drug companies on prescription drugs. That is why the US pays the highest drug costs and highest healthcare costs of any nation on the planet. “

---

Bingo!! And that’s also why there was no public option. Because demorat insurance company whores like Blanche Lincoln, Ben Nelson and the always despicable Holy Joe Lieberman made sure of it.

[McGavin999]

It’s ironic because they are the very people who helped write the law.

[Alberta's Child]

My contention all along was that the insurance companies deliberately sowed the seeds of their own destruction because they all want to get out of that business (medical insurance) anyway. ObamaCare is supposed to be a short-term windfall for them so they can enroll millions of new young, healthy clients under a Federal mandate. This was done for the sole purpose of collecting high premiums from new clients who would rarely have any claims -- with the high premiums offsetting the escalating costs of claims from their older clients.

Under ObamaCare, the insurance industry has bought itself another 10-20 to profit handsomely, at which point they'll be perfectly content to close their doors and let someone else take on the burden of paying claims.

[Verginius Rufus]

The Republicans in Congress are probably thinking this mess will help them in 2014, but they are not coming forward and saying what we should have instead of Obamacare. (It won't be possible to undo everything because of the damage already done, the fact that some people will think they are getting benefits from Obamacare, and the impossibility of having a majority against Obamacare in Congress in 2015 large enough to override a veto).

Meanwhile the media will work overtime trying to convince people that all the problems are caused by insurance company greed or Republican sabotage.

The charge that the Republicans are guilty of "sabotage" (which a number of Democrats have made) sounds like something Stalin or one of the East European Communist leaders would have made to explain failures of their policies.

[justa-hairyape]

Republicans for the most part were more concerned over stopping Obamacare than improving the healthcare of citizens of the United States.

Not exactly true. Republicans did try to stop the amended cancellation of grandfathered health care plans. Now millions of Americans are losing their health care. And to get it back they have to come up with more money and wade through the online web site that keeps hanging or crashing. They should have never lost their plans and those responsible will pay the ultimate price.

[riri]

I have always wondered how they let the pharmaceutical companies get away with having so much $$. How they had not punished them accordingly. I figured thee lobbyist kept the wolves at bay.

My previous employer was a service provider to a another service provider to a few of the smaller less known Pharma companies in the Triangle area in Raleigh. Let me tell, ya --there is no end to the cash with these companies. Now Big Commie Gov is gonna get in on the action.

Well, actually, like everything they touch--they will eventually kill the golden goose.

[nascarnation]

Realize that the Chicago Mob (aka Obama Regime) is not really ideological. It’s all about the $$$$. Same for the Clinton Crime Family.