Some are saying that the economy will prevent any drastic health care reform.
In an op-ed (via the WSJ Health Blog), Ezekiel J. Emanuel argues that major reform will be chump change compared to the $700+ billion spent last week.
He asserts that recent economic events will lessen the desire for Cadillac health coverage:
This financial crisis also means Americans may be more willing to forgo gold-plated comprehensive insurance that covers everything with few restrictions. Under the threat of losing everything, Americans may feel content with the guarantee of a decent plan that covers cost-effective treatments with some restrictions on choice and services to save money.
This is critical to any meaningful reform.
We’ve established that preventive care doesn’t save money, and electronic medical records will cost more in the short-run. Both talking points should be abandoned by the Presidential candidates.
Reducing demand is the most effective way to reduce costs. And with data showing that more care isn’t necessarily better, the onus is on the public to be comfortable with less care.
Related posts:
- Will the current economic woes save primary care?
- Health IT in the economic stimulus bill, should we be frightened?
- How the widespread adoption of electronic medical records can raise health care costs
- Electronic records and economic sense
- Why health care savings accounts should play a larger role in reform
- Rationing care is inevitable to control health care costs
- Pie in the sky and electronic records
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Bull. The recent bail out is chump change compared to the size of just the Medicare portion of the problem. Fixing health care will involve a lot more money and a resetting of the public’s expectations.
It took $4 gas for us to make serious efforts at reducing our oil addiction; it will take a lot of economic pain before we give up our delusions of plentiful medical care for all paid by somebody else.
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