Health Care Politics

Consumer-driven plans blend the decentralizers individual focus with a lighter version of the centralizers risk sharing. That means they harness the power of individual preference and decision-making, but without sacrificing stability and security. Patients make their own decisions about relatively inexpensive, routine care, but limit their exposure to expensive, unforeseen illnesses or injuries.
via The Rise [...]

Hmmm
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 63% of U.S. voters now favor repeal of the plan passed by congressional Democrats and signed into law by President Obama in March.
via Health Care Law – Rasmussen Reports™.

Hmmm
I’d call it comedy gold if not for the obvious point raised by the Times: “If they did not know exactly what they were doing to themselves, did lawmakers who wrote and passed the bill fully grasp the details of how it would influence the lives of other Americans?”
via Hot Air » Blog Archive » [...]

From the LA times.
…healthcare has been, is and will remain a surrogate issue in the never-ending fight for national political control.
via Americans’ verdict: Obama’s healthcare debate was not really about their health at all | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times.

One of the best articles I have read on the health reform issues written by a physician. Who also happens to be Barak Obama’s cousin.
Imagine if, like physicians, politicians were personally held to the incredibly high level of scrutiny that includes civil and financial liability for any unintended consequence of their decisions. Imagine if they [...]

More from ShrinkWrapped the East Coast Blogging Psychiatrist; I thought this worth repeating as it involved dental care.
A 58 year old man has been coming to the clinic for many years. He has a personality disorder, is chronically irritable, and does not get along well with others. He takes a low dose of Prozac which [...]

In my opinion any “reform” of the health care system that does not addess tort reform is not serious. The linked article from Dr. Peter Weiss is a bit dramatic, but it does make the case.
Physicians alone pay some 19 billion dollars a year in malpractice premiums. The argument …that the U.S. malpractice system is [...]