HEALTH CARE REFORM PASSES, AMERICA FAILS II
HEALTH CARE REFORM PASSES, AMERICA FAILS II
By
Ken Eliasberg
Having briefly looked at the economic effects of the recently enacted (jammed-down-our-throats) health care reform legislation, let’s take a look at the other 2 points I mentioned in introducing this subject, i.e. the effect on the quality of health care, and, even more important, the effect on the fundamental character and culture of America.
2. Diminished Quality.-With respect to the Act’s effect on the quality of health care, the conclusion is easily arrived at — this Act will substantially diminish the quality of health care that you and your progeny can look forward to receiving. And you don’t have to be an economist or a political pundit to figure this out. In fact, this is not about politics at all; it is about a combination of economics and human nature. Having briefly looked at the economic aspect of the situation, let’s take a peek at the human-nature feature. Do you really think that more gifted students are going to be clamoring to go to medical school? Well, let me disabuse you of that notion. Again, when I was growing up, being a Dr. was a big deal (or, in the words of our nit wit Vice President, “a big f—-ing deal”; this term may end up being used to define Obama’s presidency — you know, FDR was the New Deal, LBJ was the Great Society, and Obama’s reign may end up being the “Big F—-ing Deal”). And Joe Biden may end up finally having done something meaningful — defining the third great entitlement push in our country’s history. And among members of my religious group, being a Dr. was the aspiration of almost every mother for her son (women had not yet entered graduate school in significant numbers). And not, as some of our less generous folks might suggest, for the money. Being a doctor was deemed to be a noble pursuit. From a commercial or economic point of view, being a doctor meant that you were a professional — a medical entrepreneur; you were a person who, having a great deal of independence with respect to how you ran your practice, called your own shots. Under Obamacare,a doctor will be little more than a glorified civil servant; his/her independence will be significantly compromised. That being the case, many less people possessed of initiative and creativity will seek to enter the medical field; in short, you will have less talented, and thus less capable, doctors. As a consequence, the quantity and quality of the health care you can expect for you and yours will be greatly diminished.
Moreover, not only will many less “qualified” people seek to enter the field, many who have already entered will leave. Michael Tanner of the Cato Institute had this to say in an insightful piece entitled Predictions — Our future under Obamacare at nationalreview.com on 3/20/10:
“The quality of care will be worse. Doctors’ reimbursements for
providing care will be squeezed, making it harder to find a doctor.
A new survey in the New England Journal of Medicine reports that
46 percent of doctors may give up their practice in the wake of this
bill. While that is probably exaggerated, many doctors will likely
decide to reduce their patient loads or retire. At the same time,
increased demand will create additional problems.
In Massachusetts, after passage of Romneycare, the wait to see a
primary-care physician increased from 33 to 52 days. Research and
development will also be cut back, meaning there will be fewer new
new drugs and other medical breakthroughs. And the government
will increasingly intervene in medical decision making, micromanaging decisions and deciding what treatments are most effective or, frighteningly, most cost-effective.”
Also, in this regard, I recommend a recent column by David S. Van Dyke at the American Thinker on 4/6/10 entitled Who Will Be Your Health Care Provider? Mr. Van Dyke makes this observation (following a very thoughtful discussion leading up to this observation):
“The fact is that we as a nation can neither produce nor import enough
medical professionals to meet the demands soon to be placed on our
medical system. Many physicians will choose to retire, and fewer of
the best and brightest will choose to enter the field. All the while, more
and more demands will be placed on all health care professionals. In the
end, something’s got to give. Unless this is stopped, in five years’ time,
‘health care’ will be delivered by a whole new group of practitioners.In many cases, it may be ‘adequate’