I wouldn't get my hopes up, were I you. If the last few months have proven anything it's that the right wing doesn't have a monopoly on political cowardice and venality. Character and honor are as rare among so-called progressives as they are among wingnuts. Progressives just seem like nicer people as they deftly slip the stiletto in so that you hardly even realize what's happened as you watch the blood pooling around your feet. And we all know what happens to lines in the sand when the tide comes in.
Posted by RAM at June 18, 2009 05:33 AMJust finished reading Gawande's article. It's eye-opening. And it all goes back to the free market model of medicine: health care is a commodity, not a right or a public good; we are consumers, not patients; the guy in the white coat is a businessman, not a doctor. Etc etc. But how do you herd these cats into "accountable care"? If the solution offered puts the government in there as anything other than a public insurer or the single payer, it feeds right into the Republican/ Libertarian/ conservative argument about Uncle Sam "getting between you and your doctor".
Posted by VaLiberal at June 18, 2009 10:09 AMI also found the article of interest, but it didn't begin to surprise me...
Medicare and Medicade like many gov't programs has been prone to fraud and mismanagement from the beginning..
Apparently it is considered OK to gouge and swindle the gov't to pad profits..and that from "honest" care providers....
I also agree that as long as medical care is considered a commodity nothing will change..
The drive and rationalization for profits in this country are apparently going to be it's downfall...
lessee that used to be called greed..
The heads of three health insurance companies summed it all up yesterday when asked by a congress critter if their companies would stop disqualifying patients whenever possible to maximize profit..They all said NO...
They don't even have the sense to realize how unethical, dishonest and corrupt they are...
Posted by headxray at June 18, 2009 11:51 AM