Should Doctors Dump the AMA?
Yesterday the AMA endorsed the House legislation that would in effect establish government medicine. Why did they do it? They sold out for a few percentage points in the SGR. Do you think a miniscule […]
Myth 9. A “public option” is needed to spur competition, keep private plans honest, and bring down costs.
The White House claims that the choice of a public plan operating alongside private plans would spur private plans to improve. It also promises that all plans would be playing by the same rules.
Myth 8. Spending more on prevention and “wellness” will enable us to spend less on medical care while improving health.
The idea of having a “wellness” rather than a “disease” orientation is politically appealing, and politicians on both sides of the aisle promise painless savings of “billions” by “incenting doctors” to “keep people healthy.”
Myth 7. Universal coverage, enforced through an individual mandate, as in Massachusetts, will achieve universal access and reduce costs.
According to the implicit hypothesis underlying the rush to “health care reform,” the main barrier to ideal care for all at an affordable cost is the absence of universal “coverage”—payment and supervision—by an appropriate (governmental […]
Myth 6: Life expectancy is longer in other countries because they have universal tax-funded medical coverage, and the U.S. does not.
The longest-lived people are probably the Japanese. They have good genes, are seldom overweight, and eat lots of fish. They have had a government-funded medical system since 1927—and they also have a robust private medical […]
Action Alert – H.R. 2629 “Coercion is Not Health Care Act”
Dear AAPS Action Team: Please contact your Representative (Find your Representative www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.shtml) (Congressional Switchboard- 202-224-3121) and ask him to cosponsor H.R. 2629 “`Coercion is Not Health Care Act’ H.R. 2629 does not allow for any […]
Myth 5. Cost control and quality will emerge from comparative effectiveness research.
Congress appropriated $1.1 billion—the total worth of 1,100 millionaires—to “comparative effectiveness research” (CER). It promised that CER would not turn out to be “cost-effectiveness research”—and the rationale for treatment rationing and denial—although it defeated a […]
Myth 4: Infant mortality is lower in other countries because they have “universal” tax-funded medical care, and the U.S. does not.
A number of countries report lower infant mortality than the U.S., but it has nothing to do with the source of payment for medical care.
Deliveries available for $2,300
The typical cost for a vaginal delivery without complications is $9,000 to $17,000 in the U.S., depending on geographic location, and whether there is a discount for uninsured patients. A Caesarean section runs $14,000 to […]
AAPS News – July 2009
Volume 65, No. 7 July 2009 Once America’s pride, General Motors is now Government Motors. It is being dismantled by 31-year-old deputy car czar Brian Deese, who had never been inside an automobile assembly plant. […]
