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My Health Care Rant
I've been baffled and frustrated with the debate over health care that has been so dominate over the last few months. I didn't understand the rush to pass legislation and I don�t care for the scare tactics and incendiary language that both sides use when publicly debating the issue. Don�t give me "what if's" and "coulds," give me facts so I can decide for myself.
Then I found this article on Huffington Post by Dr. Mark Hyman and realized what was really bugging me about the great Health Care Reform debate � The White House and Congress isn't working on reforming health care in America, they are reforming health care insurance.
Hyman argues that what we need to do is work on creating better value out of health care, not lower costs so we can do a greater volume of care. If we change our approach to health care so that it focuses on creating a better product � healthier people who don�t get diseases or illness � then lower health care costs will follow.
It�s an argument that makes more sense to me than the idea of government run insurance plans and negotiated lower prices from pharmaceutical companies. Improve how we deliver health care � what the grand purpose of health care is - and the upside is healthier people who are reliant less on the health care system downstream.
"If the medical visit does not incorporate the science of 'health creation', in addition to symptom suppression, then the burden of disease and the cost of health care will continue to rise unchecked. There is only one problem. The focus in health reform is on doing what we already do better, not doing the right thing. We are looking for ways to pay less for what we are already doing, not pay less as a result of improving the 'product' of health care - the health of the individual, and communities." Of course, in a health care system that has grown up around a premise of treating the sick, this kind of change will be difficult. Nobody wants to give up their golden goose.
"The unspoken secret in health reform is that if we are to reduce our costs, including improving value through improving health outcomes per dollar spent, and health care costs are potentially reduced from $2.5 trillion to $1 trillion annually, then some in the health care system will be out significant amounts of cash. We can't just keep doing the same thing and pay a little less and expect a different outcome. The industries that profit from the sickness and obesity of Americans will have to retool to profit from health promotion, or go out of business." Ultimately I have little hope that the men and women in Washington crafting their reform package will actually deliver a plan that has lasting positive value. In the end, any bill passed will probably be an exercise in re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic and at a considerable high cost to tax payers.Labels: Rant
posted by Brendan | 5:14 PM | permanent link
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I'm a Child of the 80s wandering through my days with his lovely wife and three kids.
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