With politicians trying to force everyone to pay for medical care through insurance, and pay for insurance through their employer, it's nice to see a development where the patient can still be the customer. A couple of weeks ago Scripps News reported:
As Americans struggle to take charge of their health ...
A fine segment on Medicare from John Stossel's recent special, You Can't Even Talk About It. Some great moments: AARP representative claiming information technology will "have to" bring costs down, even if it won't. He also correctly identifies that Medicare is a Bernie Madoff-like Ponzi Scheme.
Stossel talks more about it ...
Yes, drug prohibition is part of health care policy. Marijuana has proven medical benefits, but politicians and government thugs insist on imprisoning people for the peaceful act of growing a plant, or smoking its leaves, or selling it. So what if it has many medical benefits, or regardless of that, ...
Continued from Part 5.
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Competition has begun to improve America's health care. Example, laser eye surgeons, cosmetic surgeons. Costs decreases, quality increases. Patients pay doctors directly.
Medical clinics staffed by nurse practioners. Inexpensive routine care. E.g., RediClinic, MinuteClinic.
Doctors who do not accept insurance. E.g., Patmos EmergiClinic. Uninsured patients save money, providers keep costs ...
Paul Hsieh's post about this disturbing facet of governement-controlled medicine won this week's Anti-Socialized Medicine Blog Post Contest by Right-Wing News and the David All Group. Congratulations, Paul! Paula Hall had the runner-up post: Pay Doctors, Don't Enslave Them, which also worth reading. Also, thank you to RWN for linking to ...
Continued from Part 4.
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High deductibles are good. Whole Foods example. Whole Foods contributes to employees' Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), which accumulates and grows over time. (Speech my Whole Foods CEO on this topic.
Do HSAs discourage patients from getting preventive care? Many policies cover preventive care, and it gives patients incentives ...
Continued from Part 3.
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Is "greed" the problem? Should medicine be about profit? Michael Moore: "Get the profit out. Get the private health insurance company out of there."
Regina Herzlinger: Henry Ford cut the price of cars by half. There are Henry Fords of health care. Less incentive to innovate without profit.
Michael ...
Apparently some people think that "managing the economy"* is a presidential responsibility. From Reuters/Zogby:
McCain now has a 9-point edge, 49 percent to 40 percent, over Obama on the critical question of who would be the best manager of the economy -- an issue nearly half of voters said was their top ...
"People not profits." You might hear this in discussions over health care and emergency situations. Ask these people to check out the success of Jeff Ellis and Associates, International Aquatic Safety and Risk Management Consultants. In July they hosted their annual Lifeguard Challenge. An Ellis employee describes it:
Our goal with ...
Continued from Part 2.
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Is "free" medical care in France, Germany, Britain, and Canada is really wonderful?
When products are free at the point of service, demand goes through the roof. People pay by waiting.
England: 18 week wait for hospital care, people lined about around the block for dental care, or pull teeth themselves. "Don't wash the sheets, just ...
