Patient Power

Bureaucrats get the best value for themselves, not you

In defense of government rationing of medical care, philosopher Peter Singer writes:

The task of health care bureaucrats is then to get the best value for the resources they have been allocated. It is the familiar comparative exercise of getting the most bang for your buck.

Indeed. Bureaucrats will get the best value for themselves with our tax dollars.  They will not find the best value for patients who earn the money the bureaucrats would spend.  The most powerful lobbyists will determine what is valuable to health care bureaucrats.

For example, check out what how the Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid) has prioritized health spending. One comparison: “Treatment for tobacco dependence” (6)  ranks higher than surgery to repair injured organs (88).

Is Singer familiar with Public Choice economics?

(via Health Care BS)

• Health Reform
• One more victim of Medicaid and employer-based insurance
• Distorted priorities of Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid)
• Politicians: save us from human nature!
• Rationing vs. choosing how to spend your own money