The Democrat’s reform plans would have a powerful ally—the Roman Catholic Church and its huge network of hospitals—were it not for the perception that plans as currently drafted would permit taxpayer funding of abortions. Without the Stupak Amendment, legislation probably would not have passed the House. A similar battle on amendments is likely to occur in the Senate. Continue reading
Category Archives: mythbusters
Myth 28. Healthcare reform bills will not cover illegal aliens.
The growing number of “48 million uninsured” includes perhaps 15 million illegal aliens (Phoenix Business Journal 7/22/09).
Obama’s statement that “ the reforms I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally” elicited the notorious “You lie” outburst from Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC). Continue reading
Myth 27. Healthcare reform is affordable.
Calling something affordable, even in the title, doesn’t make it so.
Making somebody else pay the bill doesn’t make it affordable either. A massive redistribution scheme adds costs, and makes the total cost less affordable. Continue reading
Myth 26. Government-directed rationing will be rational.
It all sounds very reasonable: to set priorities, to use the most effective therapies, to serve the neediest first. Rationing is a given, say reform advocates. Insurance companies already do it. Let’s just make it rational and fair.
Some say that Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) isn’t really about rationing. “Nothing in the legislation…provided for payment restriction based on CER findings,” writes Jerry Avorn (N Engl J Med 2009;360:1927-1929). It’s “Orwellian” to suggest such a thing. Anyway, “unaffordability rations care far more than comparative studies ever could.” Continue reading
Myth 25. Medical care costs too much because private corporations make a profit.
In his address to Congress on health care reform, Barack Obama cited Alabama as a state in which almost 90% of health insurance is controlled by one company. “[A]n additional step we can take to keep insurance companies honest is by making a not-for-profit public option available in the insurance exchanges.”
The “People Before Profits” slogan also reflects the belief that it is not only inefficient and costly but morally wrong to make a profit from providing health insurance or medical care. (Also see Myth 22.)
A reality check on health insurers and profit: Continue reading