Posted in Communism/Socialism, bioehtics, health care, insurance, law, markets, politics, research discussion, wealth, tagged doctor, hospital, legislation, politics, economics, New York Times, Medicaid, universal health care, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, primary care physician, Boston, health insurance, Katherine Atkinson, medical school, Patricia Sereno, American Academy of Family Physicians on April 10, 2008 | 3 Comments »
Actually, my title is a bit misleading. Not everyone has coverage…many people have not complied with the new law mandating coverage, and simply pay the fines. So the state still has many uninsured people, and now it has a rising shortage of primary care physicians.
Those of us who have taken a basic economics course saw [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in employee benefits, health care, insurance, markets, psychology, research discussion, tagged America, Brian Klepper, Case Shiller Home Prices Indices, consumer driven health care, consumerism, doctor, Doctorpricing.com, double entendre, drugs.com, economics, economy, ego, HDHP, health care, healthcar, hospital, hsa, nurse, physician, prosperity, Richmond, S&P, SMA Informatics, The Doctor Weighs In, Warren Brennan, webmd.com on March 23, 2008 | 4 Comments »
People like to scoff at the idea of blending health care with shopping. Uttering the very words “consumer driven health care” sends shivers down the spines of “purists” - your local medical specialist, whose life-saving work necessitates the confidence and ego driving the indignancy of the thought. Does consumerism cheapen health care? Well, yes…if you [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in health care, insurance, markets, politics, tagged Barack Obama, cnn, cnn.com, consumer driven health care, Doctorpricing.com, economics, Fortune Magazine, free market, health care, health insurance, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, medical care, political viability, politics, presidential election, Shawn Tully on March 16, 2008 | 5 Comments »
Shawn Tully, editor-at-large of Fortune Magazine, wrote a fantastic summary of each of the presidential hopefuls’ health care plans on CNN Money. He reaches the same conclusions I have have as of late on this blog - we must get health care costs under control.
I haven’t spent a lot of time on the candidates’ plans [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Communism/Socialism, bioehtics, health care, insurance, markets, medicare, misinformation/propaganda, politics, psychology, research discussion, wealth, tagged doctor, consumer, government, medicare, cancer, patient, health care, economics, philosophy, chronic disease, treatment, medical care, heart disease, preventative care, bureaucrat, liberal, conservative, Doctorpricing.com, incentives, Ezra Klein, The American Prospect, Peter Suderman, Doublethink, Andrew Sullivan, The Daily Dish, Healthcare Economist, Jason Shafrin, United States of America, libertarian, heart attack, chemotherapy, trauma, coronary artery bypass, price transparency, life and death, moral agency, Kant, freedom on February 20, 2008 | 9 Comments »
Journalists Ezra Klein and Peter Suderman debate the government’s role in the future of U.S. Health Care (thank you Healthcare Economist). Whose argument carries more weight?
Klein’s main argument is decidedly anti-libertarian, which makes perfect sense because I don’t think he is a Libertarian. Klein’s conclusion is that it will take substantial government resources, research and [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Communism/Socialism, health care, insurance, politics, psychology, tagged Africa, aged dependency ratio, America Alone, Australia, Canada, CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, economics, Europe, France, GDP, Gerald Ford, government, Greece, health care, HIV, hospital, Islam, Islamic, liabilities, Mark Steyn, Muslim, national defense, pension, SARS, Secular Humanism, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, Skynet, Socialism, Terminator, Toronto, tsunami, Uncle Sam, universal health care on January 20, 2008 | 6 Comments »
In Mark Steyn’s book “America Alone,” an argument is made that big government makes its citizenry dependent and eventually helpless, in a manner of speaking. Gerald Ford had a famous quote which speaks to this: “a government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have.” Many [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Communism/Socialism, bioehtics, entrepreneurialism, health care, law, markets, medicare, politics, research discussion, wealth, tagged doctor, hospital, nurse, consumer, government, medicare, physician, congress, public, medical, competition, patient, innovation, health care, wealth, American, economics, contraception, orthopedic, Harvard, budget, cardiology, family doctor, BBC, Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May, Mercedes, Benz, S-Class, sedan, privilege, African, automotive, cruise control, infrared camera, night vision, rural, seatbelt, anti-lock brakes, electronic stability control, ESC, satnav, mainstream, laboratory, safety, marketplace, metaphor, specialty hospital, internist, general practitioner, frontier, status-quo, research, study, prototype, Ashok Roy, Heritage Foundation, moratorium, unfair competition, Regina Herzlinger, MedPAC, HHS, mortality, costs, lobbyist, death sentence on December 26, 2007 | 1 Comment »
There’s a really cool show on BBC America called “Top Gear.” It’s a witty, irreverent, brutally honest car show hosted by three dry-witted Brits: Jeremy Clarkson (blog here), Richard Hammond, and James May. Last season they road tested the new Mercedes S-Class (video clip). The S-Class is the big, expensive standard example [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Communism/Socialism, bioehtics, health care, insurance, markets, misinformation/propaganda, politics, research discussion, tagged activism, blood clot, Canada, Canadian, CT, data, diagnostic, doctor, drugs, economics, embolism, famous, Frasier Institute, government, Harvard, health care, hosptial, medical, medicine, MRI, Nadeem Esmail, New England Journal of Medicine, non-partisan, patient, politics, pulmonary, rhetoric, single-payer, Socialism, Steffie Woolhandler, surgery, treatment on December 16, 2007 | 1 Comment »
In September 2003, Harvard Medical Professor Dr. Steffie Woolhandler had this to say in the New England Journal of Medicine: “A large sum might be saved in the United States if administrative costs could be trimmed by implementing a Canadian-style health care system.”
While I’m sure Dr. Woolhandler is a brilliant clinician and activist, I firmly [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Communism/Socialism, bioehtics, health care, insurance, law, markets, politics, research discussion, wealth, tagged a priori, Adam Smith, American, Barack Obama, compromise, consumer directed health care, coverage, diabetes, doctor, economics, empirical, flu, forclosure, government, health care, Hillary Clinton, hospital, incentive, income tax, indemnity, insurance, medicine, pursuit of happiness, resources, reward, risk, Robin Hood, socialized medicine, sub prime on December 4, 2007 | 4 Comments »
A laissezfairehealthcare blog comment turns the raging American health care debate on its head by posing the question: what are Americans willing to do without. In a country where food, shelter and entertainment are readily accessible to an overwhelming majority of the population (relative to other countries with our size and immigration levels), most American [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Communism/Socialism, bioehtics, health care, insurance, law, markets, politics, research discussion, wealth, tagged health, care, doctor, nurse, consumer, HMO, cancer, patent, tax, NY Times, directed, Jay Parkinson, patient, money, income, Socialism, America, inflation, poor, economics, diabetes, New York Times, generic, drug, philosophy, consumer directed, prescription, editorial, behavior, managed care, abuse, IT, cost, chronic disease, Emphysema, provider, compensation, salary, primary care, Charlie Munger, Mark Twain, specialist, Rand, Daniel Gilbert, Stumbling on Happiness, left0wing, MRI, DMV, transparency on November 25, 2007 | 16 Comments »
An interesting New York Times editorial sums up the key issues surrounding the soaring costs of health care in America. A number of ideas about possible causes and solutions are mentioned, and their known pros and cons discussed. The notion of consumer directed health care is mentioned, among other subjects, and some possible limitations are [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Communism/Socialism, entrepreneurialism, markets, wealth, tagged business, Call of the Entrepreneur, China, Communism, Communist, Democracy, despot, documentary, economics, economy, film, free, government, Hershey, Hong Kong, Jimmy Lai, Mao Zedong, market, monopoly, Next Magazine, People's Republic, reward, risk, Socialism, Socialist on November 17, 2007 | No Comments »
There’s a fantastic new documentary film, The Call of the Entrepreneur, which is currently touring major cities with limited special previews. The makers of the film expect it to be released (most likely in independent film houses) shortly after the tour. The film follows three entrepreneurs whose businesses range from small and rural to very [...]
Read Full Post »
Health Policy Headlines