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Clinton unveils mandatory health care insurance plan
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<blockquote data-quote="beatupbrown" data-source="post: 244399" data-attributes="member: 4488"><p><strong>Our Health-Care System Needs Intensive Care</strong></p><p><strong>September 19, 2007; Page A19</strong></p><p></p><p>In regard to John Stossel's Sept. 13 editorial-page commentary "<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118964470258225901.html?mod=Letters" target="_blank"><u><span style="color: #0000ff">Sick Sob Stories</span></u></a>": By focusing on the narrow subject of bone marrow transplantation, Mr. Stossel is missing the big picture of the major problems in health care in the U.S.</p><p>He fails to comment on the fact that there are 47 million people in the U.S. who do not have any health care. While promoting health care for profit, he neglects to mention that 31% of health-care costs in this country are for administrative salaries and advertising. Salaries of HMO executives (along with their lawyers and lobbyists) are obscene. The previous CEO of United Health Care made $1.6 billion (including back dated stock options) last year. This is not where health-care dollars should go. The current for-profit health-care system is not working.</p><p>The only solution is to eliminate the HMOs and go to a single-payer system that does not have to be administered by the government. The savings would increase reimbursements to health-care providers (and, it is hoped, stem the annual loss of primary care physicians) so that there would be greater access to care for more patients with fewer hassles.</p><p><strong>J. David Gaines, M.D., FACP</strong></p><p><em>Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine</em></p><p><em>Yale University School of Medicine</em></p><p><em>New Haven, Conn.</em></p><p>Shirley Loewe didn't have a chance. Because she had no health insurance, she died prematurely and, arguably, unnecessarily. Mr. Stossel has the right headline, "Sick Sob Stories," for his piece but the wrong conclusion. Government-run health care is not the enemy. Market-based health care is not the enemy. The high rate of uninsurance, the U.S. method of rationing, is the enemy. Shirley Loewe's is a sad story about a sick system.</p><p><strong>Eduardo Sanchez, M.D., M.P.H.</strong></p><p><em>Director, Institute for Health Policy</em></p><p><em>School of Public Health</em></p><p><em>University of Texas</em></p><p><em>Health Science Center at Houston</em></p><p><em>Houston</em></p><p>It's ironic in the extreme that this was published the same day as the story about a woman whose cancer treatment wasn't covered because she was diagnosed at the wrong clinic. Mr. Stossel rails against the "evils" of government-run health care, saying that it results in people "getting less of the care that is absolutely necessary." We obviously don't have a government-run system in the U.S., but that still didn't help Shirley Loewe get the care that was absolutely necessary for her.</p><p>Profit, Mr. Stossel says, is the source of scientific innovation and medical breakthroughs. Unfortunately, all those scientific innovations are worthless if they don't reach the patients who need them.</p><p><strong>Rebecca A. Drayer, M.D., M.Sc.</strong></p><p><em>Clinical Instructor of Medicine</em></p><p><em>University of Rochester</em></p><p><em>School of Medicine</em></p><p><em>Rochester, N.Y.</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="beatupbrown, post: 244399, member: 4488"] [B]Our Health-Care System Needs Intensive Care September 19, 2007; Page A19[/B] In regard to John Stossel's Sept. 13 editorial-page commentary "[URL="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118964470258225901.html?mod=Letters"][U][COLOR=#0000ff]Sick Sob Stories[/COLOR][/U][/URL]": By focusing on the narrow subject of bone marrow transplantation, Mr. Stossel is missing the big picture of the major problems in health care in the U.S. He fails to comment on the fact that there are 47 million people in the U.S. who do not have any health care. While promoting health care for profit, he neglects to mention that 31% of health-care costs in this country are for administrative salaries and advertising. Salaries of HMO executives (along with their lawyers and lobbyists) are obscene. The previous CEO of United Health Care made $1.6 billion (including back dated stock options) last year. This is not where health-care dollars should go. The current for-profit health-care system is not working. The only solution is to eliminate the HMOs and go to a single-payer system that does not have to be administered by the government. The savings would increase reimbursements to health-care providers (and, it is hoped, stem the annual loss of primary care physicians) so that there would be greater access to care for more patients with fewer hassles. [B]J. David Gaines, M.D., FACP[/B] [I]Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine Yale University School of Medicine New Haven, Conn.[/I] Shirley Loewe didn't have a chance. Because she had no health insurance, she died prematurely and, arguably, unnecessarily. Mr. Stossel has the right headline, "Sick Sob Stories," for his piece but the wrong conclusion. Government-run health care is not the enemy. Market-based health care is not the enemy. The high rate of uninsurance, the U.S. method of rationing, is the enemy. Shirley Loewe's is a sad story about a sick system. [B]Eduardo Sanchez, M.D., M.P.H.[/B] [I]Director, Institute for Health Policy School of Public Health University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Houston[/I] It's ironic in the extreme that this was published the same day as the story about a woman whose cancer treatment wasn't covered because she was diagnosed at the wrong clinic. Mr. Stossel rails against the "evils" of government-run health care, saying that it results in people "getting less of the care that is absolutely necessary." We obviously don't have a government-run system in the U.S., but that still didn't help Shirley Loewe get the care that was absolutely necessary for her. Profit, Mr. Stossel says, is the source of scientific innovation and medical breakthroughs. Unfortunately, all those scientific innovations are worthless if they don't reach the patients who need them. [B]Rebecca A. Drayer, M.D., M.Sc.[/B] [I]Clinical Instructor of Medicine University of Rochester School of Medicine Rochester, N.Y.[/I] [/QUOTE]
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