Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[UMStan White]

http://media1.fdncms.com/stranger/imager/u/large/24473081/1471538890-20160818_093307.jpg

The Emporer's new clothes:

[CGVT]

I'm voting for Billary over global thermonuclear war.

I wish this was a funny post...

[Prime2]

http://media1.fdncms.com/stranger/im...818_093307.jpg

The Emporer's new clothes:

Jesus Christ Stan you forgot the two D's....... Dentures & Diaper, always.

[Da Geezer]

I'm voting for Melania. Talk about transparency . . . .

[Ghengis Jon]

I'm voting my conscience...I'm voting for Doc Hodgeman.

[The Oracle]

I'm voting for Melania. Talk about transparency . . . .

And her shitty Russian resting bitch face? Pass all day on that.

[Da Geezer]

And her shitty Russian resting bitch face? Pass all day on that.

ya, I guess I'll have to remember to look at her face next time.

[SeattleLionsFan]

Just write in tom Brady. His wife is hotter.

[Ghengis Jon]

Great. The Army is being run like Enron.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-audit-army-idUSKCN10U1IG

[KidD]

Being in the Army this doesn't surprise me in the least...

Sent from my LG-F670L using Tapatalk

[hodgkal]

I've been following this healthcare discussion with interest but have been reluctant to join in because I've been out of medical practice since 1996 and am probably not as qualified to comment as I once was. But it is a fascinating topic. This is an issue that really defies an easy solution. The main reason is that the demand for healthcare services is unlimited! Combine this with the fact there will always be limited resources and you have a real conundrum. I wrote up a paper on this several years ago that I shared with some of the members here.

My main thesis is that some services that people require in society are not well suited to the private enterprise model. These include public safety and public education, things everyone needs whether they can afford them or not. That doesn't mean a person cannot send his kids to a private school but he has to pay extra for it. Same with hiring a private body guard or private security system. I would add healthcare to this group. Many western nations have figured this out land it is one of the reasons the west is far more sociologically advanced than most of the rest of the world. But for some reason the private enterprise model for medical services has become entrenched in America, almost like a religion. And it was a religion I adhered to in my younger years. That is not to say that public systems of services are flawless.

Now when it comes to healthcare this dilemma is really powerful. What we are witnessing in the US is skyrocketing costs, dissatisfied consumers, and healthcare outcomes that are significantly below the norms of most western societies. For these and a number of other reasons I have come to the conclusion that a certain basic level of care must be provided for all our citizens. Now in the interval since I retired from medical practice there have been some incremental changes for the better and I now out of the loop but I don't think the basic concepts have changed.

And some other factors need to be mentioned. I think the fee for service model has been devastating to our system. As long as providers are paid "to do" they will provide a service whether indicated or not. Doctors are just as greedy as everyone else (perhaps unconsciously). I saw it all the time. It is human nature. My other annoyance is the unique inclusion of private insurance companies as the accepted vehicle to pay. IMO these companies simply add another layer to the cost of healthcare without providing the actual services. And the drug companies with their incessant advertising have resulted in Americans being the most over-medicated population in the world! I am sick of these endless TV ads: "ask you doctor if this medicine is right for you."

This is all an extremely complex issue and I know there have been changes in recent years. For one thing small private medical practices are phasing out as doctors join large corporate groups. Computerized medical records have probably helped in avoiding unnecessary duplication of services by multiple providers.

These are just a few examples. But my basic position remains: I am now in favor of some sort of government run single payer healthcare program. And let's get those damn obsolete insurance companies out of the system!

Just my 2 cents worth.

[CGVT]

I could not agree with you more, Doc. Especially this paragraph

My main thesis is that some services that people require in society are not well suited to the private enterprise model. These include public safety and public education, things everyone needs whether they can afford them or not. That doesn't mean a person cannot send his kids to a private school but he has to pay extra for it. Same with hiring a private body guard or private security system. I would add healthcare to this group. Many western nations have figured this out land it is one of the reasons the west is far more sociologically advanced than most of the rest of the world. But for some reason the private enterprise model for medical services has become entrenched in America, almost like a religion. And it was a religion I adhered to in my younger years. That is not to say that public systems of services are flawless.

[Da Geezer]

Good post Doc. I, too, may vote for you for President.

I like your point that when a service is "free" there is unlimited demand.

[CGVT]

That was not the point. The point was that the demand for health care, whether free on not, is unlimited.

I suspect that you know that, but maybe not.

[Jeff Buchanan]

...... my basic position remains: I am now in favor of some sort of government run single payer healthcare program. And let's get those damn obsolete insurance companies out of the system!

Thanks for taking a leap into the pool, Doc.

You and I have had this discussion and you'll recall that at the time of that talk, I was working through my evolving political identity. I would have disagreed with you in my late 40s to early 50s on the basis of my political conservatism born out of military service. But now as I approach my 70th birthday having practiced medicine for nearly 20 years I find myself, as you predicted, much more socially liberal, willing to see a roll for government beyond providing for the National Defense and a growing realization that there are just people that need to be taken care of not because they are lazy and don't want to work but because they have lacked opportunity, have had little to no hope and along the course of human history many have been systematically disadvantaged.

Anyway, you and I agree.

. ..... it is profitability that is driving .... health care delivery decisions. The big dogs .... are the enlarging for profit hospitals (and you added large group/corporate medical practice), big pharma and the insurance companies.... if we're looking for lower costs and better essential care, curtailing the influence of this group on health care quality and delivery is important. It is this reality that drives my view that a single payor system using an expanded Medicare model of delivery is not necessarily the best but probably the most likely to succeed in achieving that goal (the provision of basic medical care to all US citizens).......