Re: Health care plan.....I'm confused

On Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:56:23 -0700, "Frank Howell"
<fphowell@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Bruce S wrote:
nothermark wrote:

Cost is an issue but is often used to obfuscate underlying
objectives. Folks rant about cost but do not factor in that we are
usually paying the bill now in some way. Unifying they system would
potentially provide a way to track what is really paid out and who
gets it. Once tracking becomes possible the expectation is that
much money can be saved simply by providing cheaper higher quality
preventive care up front instead of high cost emergency care for
many folks.

We've been over this before, so pay attention this time.
1. Preventive medicine does not save money - it adds to the overall
cost. 2. People will not stop going to the emergency rooms instead of
making (and keeping) doctor's appointments just because they have
insurance. In fact, since the insurance will cover those visits,
even more lazy and worthless people will burden the system, rather
than show the responsibility required to make and keep those
appointments.
Bruce

Speaking of preventive medicine, am I being too critical of Obama, when one
day he says, "Stop taking unnecessary tests." Then later on he touts
preventative medicine as a cost saver. Wouldn't preventative medicine
include screening tests, examinations, etc? Since many of these tests for
most people would come up negative, could they be construed as unnecessary?
Can preventative medicine exist without creating "unecessary tests?" How is
"unecessary" defined and by who?

Two different issues. Screening everybody for everything is a waste
of resources. This is the red herring being touted.

Screening folks who complain about a problem eliminates most folks so
the cost becomes reasonable if the screening is reasonable. Then the
issue is how many tests does it take to determine somebody has a
specific problem. This is where there is assumed waste. Part of the
problem with that assumption is that in some cases the testing really
is necessary. Part of the problem is some Doctors have been caught
getting kickbacks for tests from the labs they have some kind of
interest in. Then there is the question of whether or not that new
MRI machine can be justified.

Screening folks with a statistically higher chance of a problem moves
the cost/benefit ratio positive. Things like colon screening, breast
X-rays, etc after 50 something start to pay off because the chance of
finding something is much greater.
.

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