Comments for AAPS News of the Day

Comment on The CBO: Just What Doctor Obama Ordered by Kyle Ver Steeg, M.D.

Kyle Ver Steeg, M.D. — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 20:32:50 +0000

It’s clear this bill is not about health care access, quality improvements or cost reduction. This bill is about changing the Enlightenment ideology of the country to that of collectivism – managed by government.

If not, then why wouldn’t cause and effect be considered? For example, employer-based insurance has caused the widespread phenomenon of serious illness-job loss-insurance loss then that pre-existing illness prevents getting other insurance. Yet, employer-based insurance will continue. High costs that severely limit access are caused by insurance and hospital exemption from interstate commerce and anti-trust laws. Yet, these exemptions will remain.

It’s like treating the infection caused by appendicitis with antibiotics instead of appendectomy. It mollifies the effects, just as coercion will, but it’s outcome is just as sad.

Comment on The CBO: Just What Doctor Obama Ordered by Ronald E Feldman MD

Ronald E Feldman MD — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 18:19:08 +0000

Hopefully, primary care doctors and others won’t jump for the carrot of increased Medicare pay. It will be obvious if an across the board cut of 22 percent occurs followed by a phased in increase for primary care, that reimbursement for them, and especially specialists will be untenable.

A major withdrawal by physicians from government plans should ensue, leaving big groups affiliated with hospitals to try to care for thousands, crowding out other typses of payments.

Physicians have bluffed dropping Medicare for years, and some with guts have done it, but if the big hit comes we will have no choice but to leave the patients for whom we feel so responsible.

Comment on The CBO: Just What Doctor Obama Ordered by Dan Jones, MD

Dan Jones, MD — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 18:07:18 +0000

The CBO’s cost estimate is ludicrous. Amazingly, the CBO’s cost estimate for this legislation only includes the government’s direct costs. It doesn’t include the healthcare industry’s costs to implement those 2700 pages of laws! If enacted, those 2700 pages will be ballooned by enforcing bureaucracies into hundreds of thousands of pages of rules and regulations to further complicate and constipate all aspects of our healthcare economy. Those costs are incalculable, but certainly many times the CBO’s estimates. And soon those costs will come home to roost.

Comment on A Right to Health Care? Wrong! by S Silverstein

S Silverstein — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 01:00:12 +0000

Re: Jane Loeffler

“We watched too much suffering to be worried about rights” (dropped your scare quotes.)

You’re either a sockpuppet or just stupid.

Really? Like this suffering? “Exhumation of Mass Graves in Iraq: Considerations for Forensic Investigations, Humanitarian Needs, and the Demands of Justice.” JAMA. 2003;290:663-666

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/extract/290/5/663

These people certainly worry now about rights.

Comment on A Right to Health Care? Wrong! by Robert Pugach, MD

Robert Pugach, MD — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:37:15 +0000

A right is something a society grants its citizens. When a person is born, his or her “rights” are established by the society in which we live. If we say that someone has a “right” for food or healthcare, then, by definition, if he or she cannot afford that right then he or she has a “right” to take from those who can afford it to provide their right. By making healthcare a right we open ourselves to governmental confiscatory practices to take from those who can afford something and give it to those who cannot. Our rights in America should be limited to giving the same opportunities to succeed to all citizens, nothing more. Going beyond that turns the greatest country in the world into a free for all grab bag where those who succeed have the product of hard work and ingenuity confiscated.

Comment on A Right to Health Care? Wrong! by Janet Loeffler

Janet Loeffler — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:52:47 +0000

Yes, and so is my sister, an ob/gyn, my brother in law, a MD, and 2 other sisters, nurses. And all feel the same as I do. We watched too much suffering to be worried about “rights”. Tort reforms have been under-way for years, and not going to help more than 10%, portability will also not make a dent, but malpractice insurance needs to have some limitations as well.

Doing nothing is not an option.

Comment on A Right to Health Care? Wrong! by Mark Einbecker

Mark Einbecker — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:26:33 +0000

I’m curious Janet L. are you in the medical field? Do you work or are you on any govt. subsidy? This info would help me understand this point of view because I can’t for the life of me understand how any hard working person feels that their government has the right to strip them of the fruits of THEIR labor to fund an entitlement program. The quality of a society is how they take care of those that need assistance, not by the tyrany of the govt. that takes from those that work and give to those that won’t. No one is not against health care reform. I am a doc and agree reform is necessary. the cureent cost of health care is unsustanable. NOT because of increasing cost of health care but the ever shrinking work force and tax payer putting monies into the pool of insurances. The demographics clearly show that as the baby boomers hit the age of govt. insurance, i.e. medicare, there is a trend towards a shrinking younger population who pay into this entitlement program. We are not making babies fast enough to replace the aging population. Your solution with govt. run health care is also unsustainable do to this.
Why not do something simple like legislate portability, tort reform, extend medicaid to those who are truely in need and make congress live by the same rules of health care they legislate for us?

Comment on A Right to Health Care? Wrong! by Ralph C. Whaley MD

Ralph C. Whaley MD — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:19:43 +0000

A right is a moral principle defining and sanctioning a man’s freedom of action when living in society. Rights only pertain to the realm of action and the consequences of those actions. If an individual produces something of value for human life it belongs by right to that person. He is free to trade the value produced, whether food, clothing, software or medical knowledge for something he values more, money for instance. No man has the right to claim the property or the effort of another man except by previous freely agreed contracts which in reason benefit both parties. The only way to violate an individuals rights is to initiate force against him by direct coercion or the threat of such force. America is the first and only moral government in the history of man because it was founded on the principle of individual rights. Read the Declaration Of Independence.
For a more complete understanding of rights read Ayn Rand’s essays “Man’s Rights” and “The nature Of Government” in her book “Capitalism The Unknown Ideal”.

Comment on Tell Senate to oppose S. 3002 – Protect Access to Dietary Supplements by Laila Taavola

Laila Taavola — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:25:15 +0000

Doctors have one bag of tricks and health food groups have their bag of tricks. The government wants control of everything. Freedom means the right for us to pick which tick we want to use when. It is a shame that all medicines both natural and manufactured are not over the counter and treated like booze. The state could tax, and people would have freedom. Most of the drugs that we are not suppose to have at one time was or will be over the counter.

Comment on A Right to Health Care? Wrong! by Steve Replogle, D.O.

Steve Replogle, D.O. — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:40:08 +0000

Our Constitution and Declaration of Independence are very clear in defining where our inalienable rights come from, they come from God. If any right came from government, then government certainly can take away that right. This is about power and government control. If we relinquish our rights to government, then we will be the slaves of government. The revolutionary war was fought to establish freedom in America. Are we going to allow tyrants and traitors to take over our country? Give me Liberty or give me death. I will not go quietly.