Let the Health Care Rationing Begin!!

[Guest]

In a recess appointment that not many in the Lame Stream Media deem newsworthy, Obama picked Donald Berwick to head Medicare because of, or in spite of, his opinion that health care needs to be rationed to control costs.

Obama apologists of his unpopular and unwanted by the American people Obamacare Plan rammed through the Legislature, guffawed at the notion being reported by the Conservative Media that the plan predicated the rationing of health care and, in effect, "death panels".

This is not so far-fetched now, IS IT?

http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2010/20100709122647.aspx


http://www.varight.com/news/meet-donald-berwick-the-new-health-care-rationing-czar/

P.S. I've posted these links because, like I previously reported, the major media doesn't think this is newsworthy.

[Guest]

Well, now wonder how Mr. Berwick would feel if HIS health care were being rationed, but he's probably covered by the same type of health plan as senators and representatives and won't ever have to worry about it.

And everyone knows that poor little Lindsey Lohan has just been raked over the coals and needs all the support that we can give her. After all, she's not responsible for anything she does is she?:jester::rant-rave:

[Guest]

why they were so loud when Palin warned us about Death Panels. This guy hates the free market like all the rest of the socialists.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04_BTztNFCI&feature=player_embedded

[Guest]

a number some where between 10 and 20 million more people will be entered into the existing system.

INTO THE EXISTING SYSTEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No additional facilities, equipment, doctors, nurses or what ever.

This is certainly not a surprise to anyone is it? REALLY?

As I have said any number of times this past year, us seniors (that would be all parties, all races, all religions, ALL) currently have the least expensive, best health care you will ever having going into the future.

You WILL be paying more to get coverage for those things that will be watered down/eliminated to stretch the EXISTING SYSTEM to TRY to make it work.

Now I wonder why the POTUS would push a bill not wanted by most Americans? That will take away benefits for us seniors? And still with a straight face say it is the best for America.

Enjoy what you have while it lasts. Start doing your home work how you will stay even with the forthcoming changes.
Get ready to dig deep into the pocket book...if there is any left after you pay for the increasing energy costs that are also in YOUR future.

The kids and grand kids...will never know the good life as we did. Change you can count on (barf).

btk

[Guest]

Oh give me a break about the stupid mythical 'death panels'. Health care has been rationed for ages. Heck, I got a taste of it when my HMO decided that they weren't going to come through and pay for my vasectomy (17 years ago, just to put things in perspective) like they originally said they would.

I've been forced by various plans to go to certain doctors at certain times - have had to wait months for eye appointments for my kids, or for ob/gyn appointments for my now-ex-wife..

There's been someone 'between' you and your doctor for a couple of decades now - it's called an insurance rep.

[Guest]

Oh give me a break about the stupid mythical 'death panels'. Health care has been rationed for ages. Heck, I got a taste of it when my HMO decided that they weren't going to come through and pay for my vasectomy (17 years ago, just to put things in perspective) like they originally said they would.

I've been forced by various plans to go to certain doctors at certain times - have had to wait months for eye appointments for my kids, or for ob/gyn appointments for my now-ex-wife..

There's been someone 'between' you and your doctor for a couple of decades now - it's called an insurance rep.

OK You have been warned. If this isn't reversed in January, you will look back at those minor inconveniences quaintly as the "good old days".

[Guest]

http://drwes.blogspot.com/2010/07/end-of-rescue-medicine.html

[Guest]

Oh give me a break about the stupid mythical 'death panels'. Health care has been rationed for ages. Heck, I got a taste of it when my HMO decided that they weren't going to come through and pay for my vasectomy (17 years ago, just to put things in perspective) like they originally said they would.

I've been forced by various plans to go to certain doctors at certain times - have had to wait months for eye appointments for my kids, or for ob/gyn appointments for my now-ex-wife..

There's been someone 'between' you and your doctor for a couple of decades now - it's called an insurance rep.

I don't know what to say. Sometimes you impress me with your knowledge and sometimes, like now, you amaze me with your refusal to see beyond your nose. I don't know why you don't understand what is happening in front of your face, but I'm convinced that you will have undeniable proof of what I trying to show you in the not so distant future when a non-elected government bureaucrat tells you what treatment you or your loved one will receive, no ifs ands or buts.

[Guest]

If you have time and really want to see where our current health system is headed, listen to lectures and talks on You Tube by Dr. Don Berwick and others at his Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Or read about the overhaul of the healthcare system in Wales or tests of this in places like Oregon. Dr. Berwick was instrumental in this overhaul.

It is called Triple Aim. I personally think some of their ideas are great...with one big downfall. It is ALL controlled by the government and controlled by this think tank geared at saving money and redistributing the government's funds for government controlled healthcare around the world. The Triple Aim is improving the experience of care, improving the health of populations, and reducing per capita costs of health care world wide.

It goes much deeper than just these three things. It is all about changing how the world, not just America, but the world and how we look at and think about healthcare. It is a total overhaul of the current system by changing the current thinking by the pharmaceutical, industry, nurses, doctors, home healthcare workers, attorneys, and most importantly, the patient. It is a savings oriented program. Hospital stays are shortened. From Dr. Berwick's IHI website:

"The Best Care, for the Whole Population, at the Lowest Cost

"The annual cost for healthcare in the United States is about $2.2 trillion with up to 30% of the total health care dollars, or $700 billion, representing care that could be eliminated without reducing quality. Research has shown a wide variation in utilization of certain tests and procedures without differences in quality between high and low utilizing regions. The majority of the variation is not explained by differences in rates of illness, fees, or other population factors. Variation occurs in procedures for which there is often no clear “best option” because of multiple trade-offs between quality of life and risk considerations."

The following is where people get the "rationing" of healthcare. A better way to describe it, IMHO, is to say, for instance, my husband has severe knee pain. Our current thinking in the world is to do whatever is possible to get the best medical care that is available to him.

This isn't fair if some people can afford better care than others. It's like medical science has advanced, but only for people with good health insurance. So, instead, let's start thinking about medicine in a different way.

The goal is to get rid of the pain. Most of the time this means knee replacement. Maybe knee replacement isn't the best thing anymore since everyone can't afford the surgery.

Under this new ideal world Dr. Berwick and others have come up with, we would have a local centered care group talk to my husband about various other options and explain the major drawbacks of a knee replacement; ie costs, need to redo surgery later, pain, rehab time. etc. They will then help him find alternatives to the knee replacement. Cortisone, lose weight, better eating habits, more exercise...etc.

TThe National Priorities Partnership (NPP) of the National Quality Forum has set a series of goals for transformation of healthcare including nine areas where utilization can be reduced without impacting quality. For the prototyping initiative, IHI will focus efforts within two of these nine areas:

Diagnostic procedures: cardiac computed tomography (non-invasive coronary angiography and coronary calcium scoring); lumbar spine MRI prior to conservative therapy, without red flags; uncomplicated chest/thorax CT screening, bone or joint x-ray prior to conservative therapy, without red flags; chest x-ray, preoperative, on admission, or routine monitoring; and endoscopy.
Procedures: spine surgery, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA)/Stent, knee/hip replacement, coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), hysterectomy, prostatectomy.

IHI is launching prototyping under the umbrella of our Triple Aim Initiative, and seeks interested and capable organizations to join this effort.

http://www.ihi.org/IHI/Programs/StrategicInitiatives/AppropriateUseofSpecialtyCareServices.htm

If you go to the bottom of the above linked page and go to " Opportunities to Learn More." You can listen to a tele-conference call about a big part of the overhaul plan.

Here is an article about the Triple Aim. You will be hearing more about it in the future. If we don't our children sure will if the world keeps spinning. Note, this isn't a negative scare monger type article. It is a proponent of the plan and just spells it out. It tells how to get the plan implemented in the world.

http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2010/04/20/don-berwicks-vision-the-triple-aim/


How could the United States move toward the Triple Aim? Berwick, and two of his collegues laid out the following steps:

"If we could ever find the political nerve, we strongly suspect that financing and competitive dynamics such as the following, purveyed by governments and payers, would accelerate interest in the Triple Aim and progress toward it: (1) global budget caps on total health care spending for designated populations, (2) measurement of and fixed accountability for the health status and health needs of designated populations, (3) improved standardized measures of care and per capita costs across sites and through time that are transparent, (4) changes in payment such that the financial gains from reduction of per capita costs are shared among those who pay for care and those who can and should invest in further improvements, and (5) changes in professional education accreditation to ensure that clinicians are capable of changing and improving their processes of care."

[Guest]

Part of the Obama plan is now rolling out. Enrollment for those with pre-existing conditions. You do qualify with the following: 1. US citizen, 2. Been denied by traditional health insurance carrier and 3. you must be without health insurance for 6 months. OK, someone tell me how can a person with a pre-existing condition go without health insurance for 6 months?? I contacted healthcare.gov and tried to enroll so we can finally move to the villages. But, since I have insurance thru a high risk poll (a government program as I have been denied insurance) - I do not qualify! Maybe they want those with pre-existing conditions to go without health insurance as many can not afford their medications and appointments - therefore we won't be around!!

Would it help to post my resume to find a job in the Villages? Will work for health insurance - no pay necessary.

[Guest]

Oh give me a break about the stupid mythical 'death panels'. Health care has been rationed for ages. Heck, I got a taste of it when my HMO decided that they weren't going to come through and pay for my vasectomy (17 years ago, just to put things in perspective) like they originally said they would.

I've been forced by various plans to go to certain doctors at certain times - have had to wait months for eye appointments for my kids, or for ob/gyn appointments for my now-ex-wife..

There's been someone 'between' you and your doctor for a couple of decades now - it's called an insurance rep.

I don't exactly consider a vasectomy life threatening. We Americans, who are concerned about health care rationing, are thinking in much more serious terms such as will be denied heart-bypass surgery simply due to our age. We can hardly hope for medical services that will enhance our quality of life.

I'm sure the government will provide necessary medical care to some seniors, just the "lucky" ones who have to work ...... to support their unemployed adult children and grandchildren.

[Guest]

It's plain as day but some folks will never see it coming. Obama is a radicle socialist and he's stacking the government full of people of like minded rubber stampers. He's destroying our private sector economy, our health care system and just wait come January. They will unleash a volley of tax increases never seen in our history in the name of fixing a problem they caused by design.

Guess what? You will NEVER see the government make due with one less penny. The Obama plan is and always has been to totally run the country into a ditch and then rape and pillage the private sector for every penny they can steal in the name of saving the country.

Health care was just the first of many salvos. Even his own hight dollar liberal supporters are jumping ship.

BTW, see the latest poll today? 55% of Americans think Obama is a socialist. Rationing for seniors is coming. They will pick and choose who gets what.

[Guest]

Richie: My point is that we ALREADY ration health care. Any parent trying to make an appointment for their kid knows this. In the 1980s, you could not find ONE SINGLE OB/GYN accepting new patients on Cape Cod because of what the insurance companies and other policies had done.

"Obamacare", at least to these eyes, looks like a sellout to the exact same insurance companies that had the public clamoring for health care reform in the first place.

New law says you can't drop someone for reasons related to a new cancer diagnosis? Fine. Then they just drop the patient with no explanation. That's how you get around THAT regulation (in California, apparently).

You can argue all you want about the various systems in the various countries and whether or not they're better or worse, but there's one thing you just can't get around in this country that has to be a MAJOR factor in causing the problem: cost.

I've said it before, but to sumarize, my ER visit in Montreal was handled right away (so much for waiting for treating something 'life threatening' - mine wasn't, just very painful) and very well. The total cost - and I've kept this bill, was ONE FIFTH what it would have cost here (About $500 vs at least $2500 here)

Can you imagine what the 'health care reform debate' would be if our costs were ONE FIFTH of what they are? ...how much less "medical bankruptcy" there'd be? ...how much more reasonable insurance premiums would be? ...how many more cases would be treated early, when it's easy instead of in crisis mode because people can't afford regular care?

To our doctors, we are patients. To the insurance companies, we are PROFIT CENTERS AND NOTHING MORE.

[Guest]

djplong, where do the malpractice attorneys, pharmaceutical companies, research laboratories, home health care providers, nurses unions, specialty care physicians, manufacturers of artificial limbs and devices, ambulance services, medical equipment, et al fit into the high cost created and exploited by the evil insurance companies?

[Guest]

You forget one simple thing. If they would reform health care the way it should be reformed we would be a lot more than just a profit center for insurance companies. We'd be customers, and customers they would have to compete for.

To our doctors, we are patients. To the insurance companies, we are PROFIT CENTERS AND NOTHING MORE.

I suppose in a way that's true but with government run health care you can take out the profit center part and leave the nothing more because that's what we'd be to the government. Nothing.

I'll take my chances with the evil health insurance companies. I wouldn't trust a plug nickel to a politician.

[Guest]

bk: I can't tell you EXACTLY how all that fits into the formula. However I can at least address many of what you brought up.

Malpractice attorneys fit in to a degree because of 'defensive medicine'. This is why OB/GYNs stopped taking patients in Cape Cod in the 1980s. Now doctors order up ever test known to man so that they avoid being sued.. Now, it's not *totally* their fault for this part because we, as Americans, seem to have a "Doctor is God" complex. Heaven forbid a baby comes out wrong - and now there are a hundred lawyers on 200 cable channels all night long telling you that you can get paid for it.

Pharma / research labs - Here we have one of my pet peeves. We are the research lab for the entire country. I'm not sure where I've read it, but I've repeatedly read that "Big Pharma" amortizes their R&D costs here in the US. In other countries, they basically get medication for "manufacturing cost + some profit".

Home Health care providers - As far as I know it cuts costs. Nurses unions don't seem to impact much becauyse nurses aren't exactly making lots of money - that's why there are still nurse shortages.

Now, all the others you've mentioned have their place. BUT - when inflation is negligible, you just can't raise premiums by 30% (and this is BEFORE 'Obamacare') and not have people ask questions.

I didn't say the insurance companies were "evil" - they are CORPORATIONS and as such, it HAS to be understood that their loyalty is to the STOCKHOLDER, not the subscriber. (This is the same argument I go through with advertising - the consumer is not the 'customer' of the radio/tv/cable station - the consumer is the PRODUCT to be delivered to the PAYING CUSTOMER known as the advertiser)

It's not "evil" per se - it's BUSINESS.