I love John Stossel

[deleted65604]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WnS96NVlMI

This video is a crucial piece of health-care reform that must be addressed in my opinion.

The problem is that it is not politically correct to tell your voters that they need to actually pay money when they access healthcare.

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[ccfccp]

I'm glad I'm not the only person who saw that. Good post. If you've never seen the "politically incorrect guide to politics" I'd recommend that too

 

[willow18]

Oh cool, analyzing a complex issue with a music video and an expert singer and comparing apples to oranges, so cool. Why he'd make a great Fox News reporter. What's that? Oh, he's already signed up; nice.

Let's be honest, the real reason for exploding costs is not stupid flu shots and physicals; it's stuff that people cannot go 'shopping for' or make well-informed decisions about before resorting to "so what would you do Doc". I agree with the minor point of having to share the costs and knowing the real price of things, but that's not what's bleeding this system. So to compare it to grocery shopping along with expert commentary by a clueless singer is *****ic. Enjoy your cronies and fanboys at Fox, John.

 

[tjaze]

Oh cool, analyzing a complex issue with a music video and an expert singer and comparing apples to oranges, so cool. Why he'd make a great Fox News reporter. What's that? Oh, he's already signed up; nice.

Let's be honest, the real reason for exploding costs is not stupid flu shots and physicals; it's stuff that people cannot go 'shopping for' or make well-informed decisions about before resorting to "so what would you do Doc". I agree with the minor point of having to share the costs and knowing the real price of things, but that's not what's bleeding this system. So to compare it to grocery shopping along with expert commentary by a clueless singer is *****ic. Enjoy your cronies and fanboys at Fox, John.

The lack of cost transparency is actually a serious problem with healthcare. The patient doesn't know how much something costs or whether it'll be paid for until after the visit. The doctor sees the patient and doesn't know if he'll be paid until after he's already taken on medical liability. It's ridiculous that this is even allowed to go on. Healthcare reform should start here and impose regulations on insurance plans to clearly and simply make visible what is covered and exactly how much.

 

[willow18]

The lack of cost transparency is actually a serious problem with healthcare. The patient doesn't know how much something costs or whether it'll be paid for until after the visit. The doctor sees the patient and doesn't know if he'll be paid until after he's already taken on medical liability. It's ridiculous that this is even allowed to go on. Healthcare reform should start here and impose regulations on insurance plans to clearly and simply make visible what is covered and exactly how much.

I agree. So here's a proposal to Stossel, FoxNews and Sarah Palin:

Grandma is 83 and has advanced Alzheimer's and is here for a bad MI. Before we cath her and/or send her to CCU, we pull together the family and tell them this hospital stay will cost $50,000 and she probably won't even get half a QALY out of it so maybe think of comfort care.

Huh? What did you say? OMG! Death Panels, Death Panels!

 

[tjaze]

I agree. So here's a proposal to Stossel, FoxNews and Sarah Palin:

Grandma is 83 and has advanced Alzheimer's and is here for a bad MI. Before we cath her and/or send her to CCU, we pull together the family and tell them this hospital stay will cost $50,000 and she probably won't even get half a QALY out of it so maybe think of comfort care.

Huh? What did you say? OMG! Death Panels, Death Panels!

 

[DocCartman]

I agree. So here's a proposal to Stossel, FoxNews and Sarah Palin:

Grandma is 83 and has advanced Alzheimer's and is here for a bad MI. Before we cath her and/or send her to CCU, we pull together the family and tell them this hospital stay will cost $50,000 and she probably won't even get half a QALY out of it so maybe think of comfort care.

Huh? What did you say? OMG! Death Panels, Death Panels!

I know you're right. You know you're right. I would venture to say that 95% of MDs agree with this and realize the whole "death panel" thing is BS.

BUT, we have the luxury of looking at Granny and her situation objectively. Unfortunately, whoever's grandma that is only sees their grandma- so their mix of emotional attachment/cultural beliefs/etc mean that any MD argument about the politics/economics of healthcare distribution etc will fall flat.

If that were my grandma (or mom), would I go for palliative care? Absolutely. But if the government mandates that Granny goes to palliative care against the patients wishes, then you can see how the family would look at that gov't mandate as a "death panel". They don't see the Alzheimer's/MI killing grandma- they see the government killing grandma. Irrational, yes. But emotion tends to make people do irrational things (see: people with chick's names tatooed on their Azzes)



Disclaimer: economic conservative, social liberal. not on the Palin 2012 bandwagon

 

[deleted65604]

I never said that John Stossel's idea would be a panacea. I do believe that it is a critical part of the health care debate that is lacking. WIth more government control, and even intrusion into private insurance companies, I think that costs will rise. In the end, where will the government cut costs? Decreasing healthcare for the elderly is not going to happen, they are the most faithful voters. They will come after physician salaries. They might not do it in 10 years, or even 15 years, but eventually, we will see caps on physician payment. Good luck paying off your student loans when that happens. Hopefully, I'll have payed off my $400,000 of debt by then. I'm not sure the current crop of pre-meds will be so lucky.

 

[tjaze]

I never said that John Stossel's idea would be a panacea. I do believe that it is a critical part of the health care debate that is lacking. WIth more government control, and even intrusion into private insurance companies, I think that costs will rise. In the end, where will the government cut costs? Decreasing healthcare for the elderly is not going to happen, they are the most faithful voters. They will come after physician salaries. They might not do it in 10 years, or even 15 years, but eventually, we will see caps on physician payment. Good luck paying off your student loans when that happens. Hopefully, I'll have payed off my $400,000 of debt by then. I'm not sure the current crop of pre-meds will be so lucky.

good thing i'm already in medical school. i'll just make the cut.

 

[GeneralVeers]

Huh? What did you say? OMG! Death Panels, Death Panels!

I actually don't understand why my Republican colleagues are against death panels. It is completely in-line with the core Republican values of self-reliance, small government programs, and thrift.

If you are getting ANY benefits from the taxpayers, be it welfare, food stamps, or medical care, then the public has every right to determine how you use those benefits. Don't like this? Great, pay out of pocket for your benefits, or switch to a private plan that gives you more autonomy.

 

[Jeff698]

I actually don't understand why my Republican colleagues are against death panels. It is completely in-line with the core Republican values of self-reliance, small government programs, and thrift.

Sensible Republicans kept their mouths shut about this. Unfortunately, blowhards looking to keep their name in the headlines and stir up angst and fear like, say, Sara Palin, jumped all over it because it was a nice sound bite proven means of rallying crowds.

Unfortunately, those core Republican values aren't all that core in the current party. If they were, there would be a lot more Republicans. Like, for instance, me.

Take care,
Jeff