[Paleopsych] Health care debate

[Steve Hovland]

I think this is cant:

"Experts of all ilks agree that one reason health care costs keep rising so 
rapidly is that consumers have gotten into the habit of making decisions 
with no regard at all for cost."
The average consumer is a passive participant in the health care process.
The costs are largely determined by the oligarchical power of the HMO's,
insurance companies, and drug companies.  This should be placed under
the microscope, but they have bribed the Executive and Legislative branches 
into looking the other way.

This is too:
"Starting in the New Deal era and in World War II, government provided and 
encouraged employers to provide social insurance and health insurance that 
would guarantee benefits and buffer individuals against the workings of the 
market."
I would bet that you could go through all of the enabling legislation and 
never
find any reference to "the workings of the market."  The HMO's, insurance
companies, and drug companies are the ones who are being buffered against
the workings of the market.

This formulation also conveniently forgets the basic function of insurance:
the pooling of risk.  I have seen hospitals gobble up $20,000 in a single 
day,
so the HSA approach is somewhat unrealistic based on our current 
distribution
of personal income.

That said, I have heard that the British health care system does not 
provide
heart bypass surgery, and that is a good thing.  The scientific evidence is
that the benefits of this expensive procedure are temporary.  On the other
hand, Dean Ornish MD can produce PET-scan evidence that his no-fat 
vegetarian
diet can permanently reverse coronary artery diseae.  So this is a way to a 
better
future: the elimination of costly but ineffective treatments, shifting 
toward an
outcome-based approach.

Steve Hovland
www.stevehovland.net


-----Original Message-----
From:	Lynn D. Johnson, Ph.D. [SMTP:ljohnson at solution-consulting.com]
Sent:	Monday, November 29, 2004 7:15 AM
To:	The new improved paleopsych list
Subject:	[Paleopsych] Health care debate

An interesting new idea about health care:

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/michaelbarone/mb20041129.shtml



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