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Healthcare reform


kapkomet

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Here's a commentary on one of 2k5's favorite arguments; that we can't possibly treat 45 million more people because we don't have enough doctors. From the author of the book "Overtreated".

The Baucus bill includes provisions to increase the number of physicians in the U.S. That’s a good way to increase spending, not decrease it – and it is unlikely to lead to better care and better outcomes. Unfortunately, many members of Congress and the public have accepted the erroneous arguments being made by groups like the Association of Medical Colleges that we need more doctors.

 

The AAMC and others are basing their projections on a couple of faulty premises. One, the current supply of doctors is about right, and two, as the population ages, we will need more doctors than we already have. But if you look at the supply of physicians relative to the population in different parts of the country, there’s not much relationship between how old and sick people are on average (and thus how many doctors might be needed to care for them) and the rate of doctors. That suggests on the face of it that the current supply of doctors in any particular place isn’t based on what patients need. Second, there’s also no consistent relationship between the number of doctors and patient outcomes. In other words, more doctors doesn’t lead to better care or better health.

 

On the other hand, there is a relationship between the number of doctors and how much we spend per capita. Spending is generally higher in places with more physicians, particularly more specialists. Los Angeles, for instance, is awash in doctors compared with the size of the population. So is Miami. What all this says is more doctors – and particularly more specialists – probably won’t lead to better health, but it will lead to higher costs.

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QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 23, 2009 -> 07:48 PM)
Forced relocations? Sweet.

My God, you read that and that's what you come up with? Jesus H. Christ. "There is no correlation between number of doctors and health care outcomes but there is a strong correlation between number of doctors and increased costs" = "We're going to force doctors to move at gunpoint."

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QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 23, 2009 -> 09:52 PM)
My God, you read that and that's what you come up with? Jesus H. Christ. "There is no correlation between number of doctors and health care outcomes but there is a strong correlation between number of doctors and increased costs" = "We're going to force doctors to move at gunpoint."

 

It is fun to be the party out of control, I must say.

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Here's a good read on the malpractice issue that keeps coming up. It tries to cover both sides...yes, there's probably some additional spending due to the fact that we haven't fixed the malpractice system, this author estimates about $60 billion annually (about 3% of health care costs, not something to sneeze at but not anywhere near the difference between us and the rest of the world). But at the same time, there's an awful lot of malpractice going on that could be fixed, is never dealt with because the barriers to doing anything about it have been set so high, and also makes people more sick and more injured.
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QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 24, 2009 -> 11:12 AM)
Here's a good read on the malpractice issue that keeps coming up. It tries to cover both sides...yes, there's probably some additional spending due to the fact that we haven't fixed the malpractice system, this author estimates about $60 billion annually (about 3% of health care costs, not something to sneeze at but not anywhere near the difference between us and the rest of the world). But at the same time, there's an awful lot of malpractice going on that could be fixed, is never dealt with because the barriers to doing anything about it have been set so high, and also makes people more sick and more injured.

Yes, and we know the only thing that can fix it is the government.

 

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SHHHH!!! Don't tell the GOP representatives this:

 

Even Republican Voters Favor The Public Option

The poll asked this question: "Would you favor or oppose the government offering everyone a government administered health insurance plan -- something like the Medicare coverage that people 65 and older get -- that would compete with private health insurance plans?"

 

The top-line result is 65% in favor, 26% opposed. Among Democrats only, it's 81%-12%, and independents are at 61%-30%. And among Republican respondents, 47% are in favor, to 42% opposed.

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QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Sep 29, 2009 -> 04:32 PM)
Dems are a bunch of inept douche bags.

Seriously they are. And they try to blame the Republicans for blowing it when they have a supermajority.

Edited by lostfan
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