tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596295017731233439.post5129669141164867552..comments2023-10-07T20:41:31.747-05:00Comments on Scrub Notes:<br> A Blog For Med Students: The Future of America's Healthcare: Obama vs. McCainScrub Noteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07204127626497799409noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596295017731233439.post-4674984544003596002008-09-18T14:40:00.000-05:002008-09-18T14:40:00.000-05:00Good comment! I strongly agree - the ultimate solu...Good comment! I strongly agree - the ultimate solution will require some kind of neutral insurer with the incentive to maximize health / well-being and not profits. The only entity that fits that bill is the government (or some other form of public-private "single payer" entity). However, as I recall, Obama said that if he were starting from scratch he would go this route, it is not politically feasible to do so in this environment. <BR/><BR/>That is the reason everyone is so focused on mandates. If you cannot have a single payer, what you can do is have everyone become vested in the current system. It serves both ends: there is pseudo-universal coverage (which is still better than the status quo), and insurance companies will go along because they realize they must change, but this route preserves some role for them. It's a sad state of affairs, but I think it will take someone with an enormous amount of political capital to burn to make any real change.Pragmatisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10873003972107934498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596295017731233439.post-17946655576577029002008-09-15T22:36:00.000-05:002008-09-15T22:36:00.000-05:00forgot to add: both plans really are a sad attempt...forgot to add: both plans really are a sad attempt to solve the problem. we've seen what the "universal" mandate looks like in massachusetts (failure)--so why are we still talking about mandates??Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1596295017731233439.post-82091303956337563192008-09-15T22:33:00.000-05:002008-09-15T22:33:00.000-05:00Is messing with taxes the way to better health car...Is messing with taxes the way to better health care? Such a proposal is so small minded.<BR/>As long as health care is managed by for-profit, private companies, it will never be truly universal, and poor people (indeed, anyone not wealthy enough to pay out of pocket) will continue to suffer from lack of access to care, underinsurance, etc.<BR/>The real solution would involve a departure from "market" solutions, much like a single payer solution. Hillary admitted that such a plan was not politically feasible (or was it Obama)--so people have thought of it.<BR/>A study in the annals of internal medicine showed that 60% physicians approve of such a single payer plan.<BR/>Why not??<BR/>House resolution 676, sponsored by Congressman Dennis Kucinich and many others, is the right way to go. <BR/>Messing with tax cuts here, credits there, mandates and so forth, is too convoluted and masks the true crisis of health care--which is that a system based on profits will never put the health of people first, which is what health care must do.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com