But What KIND of Reform Is it?

Nicholas Kristof, writing in the NY Times yesterday doubles down on Canadian Style health care with a column under the headline "This Time We Won't Scare Off". In it he talks about one woman who had a positive experience with the system as if that one story will be enough to off sent the hundreds of reports of bad experiences with the system (many of which I have reported here). Meanwhile, President Obama was back on the campaign trail in Green Bay Wisconsin trying to sell his nationalized health care system to the American people. One of the comments that he made (in addressing the critics of his plan) was the comment that "no one in DC" is proposing socialized medicine. Or really Mr. President? Why is it then that your Administration met with the Jack Layton, the ND member of Parliment, who drew up THEIR socialized medical program? Mr. Layton even contradicted the President with this comment prior to his meetings WITH the Obama Administration.

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"We know the Americans can't just simply adopt our model, walk it across the border and put it in place," Layton said in an interview Saturday after making a speech to the Ontario NDP provincial council in Toronto.

"But the principles of universality, of access and of insuring that health care's available to everybody, those kinds of principles are very much motivating the Obama administration."

Emphasis mine. Another meme that the President and his sycophants are perpuating is the meme that there are no alternatives being proposed. The only truth to that comment is that there are no alternatives that THE MEDIA IS REPORTING! The real truth is that there are alternatives as this op-ed shows.

To be effective, health care reform must include insurance coverage for everyone, encourage prevention measures, and reform the inefficiencies in our system to ensure the future strength of our economy. CPR—Coverage, Prevention, Reform—is a plan I have proposed that sets up a system where every American will be required to purchase meaningful health insurance to ensure each family will be protected against bankruptcy if a family member becomes seriously ill or injured. No family should lose their home or life-savings because of illness or injury. For those who may not be able to afford this plan, you will have assistance getting coverage. This proposal also aggressively focuses on the need for more robust preventive care and creates incentives for people and businesses to work toward better health sooner, rather than later when such measures may not work and crisis treatment is much more costly. By offering first-dollar coverage for early health screenings and immunizations, this program will create the foundation for healthy lifestyles and reduce the need for later treatments. Further, by rewarding employees for taking part in employer-sponsored programs, which often include programs to help people quit smoking, fitness club membership options, and affordable access to programs like Weight Watchers, CPR creates incentives that will motivate Americans to take control of and improve their personal health. The third component of CPR entails much needed reform of the way we pay for health care in this country. As it stands now, health care constitutes 17% of the U.S. economy, an amount that totals more than $8,000 annually for every person in the U.S. We already have more than $38 trillion in promised Medicare benefits over the next 75 years that we don’t know how to pay for. The President himself has stated, "The biggest threat to our nation’s balance sheet is the skyrocketing cost of health care." We don’t need more health care that spends more taxpayer dollars to grow government; we need better health care that offers Americans peace of mind and quality care at prices they can afford.

This is coming from the President's first pick for the Commerce Secretary. But wait - the sycophants say - the President says that this is going to save everyone (including the Government) money. Well I think we should wait for the CBO to weigh in on this to be certain, but if past performance (of the President's cost savings claims) are any indication, the CBO is going to be singing a different tune - AGAIN!

Senator Gregg closes with this thought.

Reform starts with paying for quality, not quantity. According to a study at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, as much as $750 billion is spent each year on procedures or health-related services that don’t necessarily help patients get better. For example, when discharging patients, hospitals have an obligation to provide patients with a care plan to ensure they don’t end up readmitted. However, Medicare pays more to hospitals when a patient ends up back in the hospital. And physicians are paid more when they order more tests, procedures and office visits, whether you need them or not.

Ask yourself: Would you pay your dinner bill if the waiter spilled your first plate all over the floor, brought you a replacement plate, and then charged you double? We have the information and ability to change how we pay for health care; we just need to begin implementing the policies to do it, such as informing providers and the public of their performance compared to other providers in their locality and around the country. Payment incentives can also be instituted to improve care by encouraging physicians to coordinate care for patients, thereby eliminating unnecessary procedures and tests. Efforts such as these will improve quality and reduce costs.

President Obama has said that health care reform needs to be passed "right away". The last time we heard that it was the stimulus package and we all know how well that has worked - right? Rather than rush this bill throw and get even more flawed legislationi (like the stimulus) let's take the time to thoroughly and completely discuss ALL options for health care reform. After all, if the reform is that necessary - isn't it a good idea to make sure that everyone's concerns are addressed?