Comments on: Health care reform: Democracy as an impediment? http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2007/07/health-care-reform-democracy-as.html medical blog Sun, 22 Nov 2009 07:50:13 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Anonymous http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2007/07/health-care-reform-democracy-as.html/comment-page-1#comment-77173 Anonymous Fri, 06 Jul 2007 12:15:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2007/07/health-care-reform-democracy-as-an-impediment.html#comment-77173 Constitutional democracy a barrier to the federal government depriving people of more of their property and liberty! I am shocked! Who would have thunk it? Constitutional democracy a barrier to the federal government depriving people of more of their property and liberty! I am shocked! Who would have thunk it?

]]> By: doctork@equalhealthcareforall.com http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2007/07/health-care-reform-democracy-as.html/comment-page-1#comment-77170 doctork@equalhealthcareforall.com Fri, 06 Jul 2007 05:28:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2007/07/health-care-reform-democracy-as-an-impediment.html#comment-77170 I do not agree that democracy is the impediment in America to major health care reform. Rather, the problem is the politicians who pander to the health care lobbies for the health insurance companies, hospitals, and drug companies. There is an article in the Washington Post on June 3, 2007 titled " A Route To Better Health Care" by Mr. David S. Broder. In the article he points out that the politicians are picking up the message from Professor Kenneth Thorpe, Ph.D., an Emory University professor of health policy, regarding concentrating on preventive care and better management of chronic diseases as a way to save money. No one that I know disagrees with the soundness of good preventive medicine and coordinated management of chronic diseases. But I also do not know any doctors who approach these two endeavors because it saves money or is predicted to save money. They do them because the potential is there to possibly prolong the life of the patient and certainly to improve the quality of life, how the patient feels, during their life's journey. If money is saved, that's fine. But we would still perform those two endeavors even if it cost more money; at least, I would.<br/><br/>Now, back to democracy being an impediment to health care change. If the presidential candidates from both parties are picking up Professor Thorpe's message and running with it, why are they not also picking up Professor Thorpe's economic analysis of the cost and savings of a universal publicly financed program for insuring all Americans, which he performed for the National Coalition on Health Care in 2005? Over the decade between 2006 and 2015, he predicted that savings would begin in the first year of implementation and would be about $182 billion by 2015. Total savings in the first decade of implementation would exceed $1.1 trillion.(http://www.nchc.org/materials/studies/Thorpe%20booklet.pdf)<br/>Why are both the major Democratic candidates and Republican candidates not talking about this?<br/>I think a better title for Mr. Broder's article would have been, "Politicians Leading Us Up the Garden Path Toward the Great Construction of the Status Quo."<br/>No, democracy is not the problem. The word-spinning politicians offering us convoluted tweakings of our dysfunctional system are the problem. Why won't they just solve the problem? The expertise of tremendously knowledgable individuals such as Professor Thorpe and Dr. McClellan is available to them.<br/>Since our politicians refuse to come up with a credible health care plan, I have developed it for them in my book, EQUAL HEALTH CARE FOR ALL. (ISBN13: 978-0-9796994-0-5) If you are really interested in a health care system that provides clear and equal access to vital, comprehensive health care for everyone living in America in an affordable manner and that not only provides firm control of the cost (price) of health care services and products while allowing quite reasonable profit margins for health care businesses, but also alleviates employers from having to provide a health care benefit, then read my book and start calling your politicians in Washington,D.C. The book is available through my web site , www.equalhealthcareforall.com.<br/><br/>Doctor K. I do not agree that democracy is the impediment in America to major health care reform. Rather, the problem is the politicians who pander to the health care lobbies for the health insurance companies, hospitals, and drug companies. There is an article in the Washington Post on June 3, 2007 titled ” A Route To Better Health Care” by Mr. David S. Broder. In the article he points out that the politicians are picking up the message from Professor Kenneth Thorpe, Ph.D., an Emory University professor of health policy, regarding concentrating on preventive care and better management of chronic diseases as a way to save money. No one that I know disagrees with the soundness of good preventive medicine and coordinated management of chronic diseases. But I also do not know any doctors who approach these two endeavors because it saves money or is predicted to save money. They do them because the potential is there to possibly prolong the life of the patient and certainly to improve the quality of life, how the patient feels, during their life’s journey. If money is saved, that’s fine. But we would still perform those two endeavors even if it cost more money; at least, I would.

Now, back to democracy being an impediment to health care change. If the presidential candidates from both parties are picking up Professor Thorpe’s message and running with it, why are they not also picking up Professor Thorpe’s economic analysis of the cost and savings of a universal publicly financed program for insuring all Americans, which he performed for the National Coalition on Health Care in 2005? Over the decade between 2006 and 2015, he predicted that savings would begin in the first year of implementation and would be about $182 billion by 2015. Total savings in the first decade of implementation would exceed $1.1 trillion.(http://www.nchc.org/materials/studies/Thorpe%20booklet.pdf)
Why are both the major Democratic candidates and Republican candidates not talking about this?
I think a better title for Mr. Broder’s article would have been, “Politicians Leading Us Up the Garden Path Toward the Great Construction of the Status Quo.”
No, democracy is not the problem. The word-spinning politicians offering us convoluted tweakings of our dysfunctional system are the problem. Why won’t they just solve the problem? The expertise of tremendously knowledgable individuals such as Professor Thorpe and Dr. McClellan is available to them.
Since our politicians refuse to come up with a credible health care plan, I have developed it for them in my book, EQUAL HEALTH CARE FOR ALL. (ISBN13: 978-0-9796994-0-5) If you are really interested in a health care system that provides clear and equal access to vital, comprehensive health care for everyone living in America in an affordable manner and that not only provides firm control of the cost (price) of health care services and products while allowing quite reasonable profit margins for health care businesses, but also alleviates employers from having to provide a health care benefit, then read my book and start calling your politicians in Washington,D.C. The book is available through my web site , http://www.equalhealthcareforall.com.

Doctor K.

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