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 July 27, 2009

What’s Obama Leaving Out of His Prescription for America?

Ever heard of the phrase “no such thing as a free lunch”? If you’ve taken Economics 101, you likely have. But evidently, this falls on deaf ears in the Obama administration. Six months after taking office, the President vows that his “reform” will insure the uninsured and rein in health spending. What he covers up in his flowery rhetoric, however, is how he intends to control these costs and eliminate waste.

Writing today in the Washington Post, columnist Robert J. Samuelson says, “his ‘reform’ isn’t likely to compel needed changes, partly because it’s not clear what will work.” Samuelson continues:

Judged objectively, “reform” may do exactly the opposite of what Obama says. But because the president is so well-spoken, he has the ability to make misleading statements sound reasonable or sophisticated. Still, they’re misleading.

In a recent dialogue at a congressional hearing, Douglas Elmendorf, head of the independent, non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said, “in the legislation that has been reported, we do not see the sort of fundamental changes that would be necessary to reduce the trajectory of federal health spending by a significant amount. And on the contrary, the legislation significantly expands the federal responsibility for health care costs. … The (cost) curve is being raised.”

The administration is not going to get something for nothing, argues Samuelson. “It could emphasize expanded insurance coverage (‘access’) or cost control, but not both,” he concludes.

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Comments Author: Nina Sidoryanskaya
  • blacknblue2
    CNN
    5 freedoms you'd lose in health care reform

    http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/24/news/economy/he...



    1. Freedom to choose what's in your plan

    2. Freedom to be rewarded for healthy living, or pay your real costs

    3. Freedom to choose high-deductible coverage

    4. Freedom to keep your existing plan

    5. Freedom to choose your doctors

    I've never liked HMO's and have never bought an HMO type policy. Looking at the internet illustrates how people rant about HMO's but ....................

    The Senate bill requires that Americans buying through the exchanges -- and as we've seen, that will soon be most Americans -- must get their care through something called "medical home." Medical home is similar to an HMO. You're assigned a primary care doctor, and the doctor controls your access to specialists. The primary care physicians will decide which services, like MRIs and other diagnostic scans, are best for you, and will decide when you really need to see a cardiologists or orthopedists.

    Under the proposals, the gatekeepers would theoretically guide patients to tests and treatments that have proved most cost-effective. The danger is that doctors will be financially rewarded for denying care, as were HMO physicians more than a decade ago. It was consumer outrage over despotic gatekeepers that made the HMOs so unpopular, and killed what was billed as the solution to America's health-care cost explosion."

    Very comical to think about how people hate the need to get referals from doctors but are they willing to do the same in the Obama National Health Plan?

    I bet the elected kings & queens hate the internet!
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