[Oe List ...] OE Digest, Vol 65, Issue 70

[Herman Greene]

Agreed. I remember Joe Matthews saying what we needed was civilized people,
so let's keep our exchanges at a high level of civility.

 

Don's care and concern over many years is a testament to his character.

 

Herman

 

  _____  

From: oe-bounces at wedgeblade.net [mailto:oe-bounces at wedgeblade.net] On Behalf
Of Jack Gilles
Sent: Wednesday, September 09, 2009 7:41 PM
To: Order Ecumenical Community
Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] OE Digest, Vol 65, Issue 70

 

David,

 

I think you need to think twice before writing personal attacks on a person
you don't obviously know well and I would hope you would consider an apology
to Don.  Those of us who have had the honor of knowing Don well know him to
be both a compassionate and generous human being who has donated his money,
time and most important, his doctoring skills all over the world.  So for
you to paint him as lacking compassion because of his expressed views is
terribly wrong.  Don needs no defense but he has some valid concerns.

 

Don is not advocating denial of wheelchairs to those who need it.  He does
object, as we all should, to the scam that gets these things paid for at 2,
3 or 4 times what the supplier paid for it and often for people who don't
need them.   Secondly, I have often heard people cite your 2% statistic on
tort cost, but there is a documented trend of young doctors avoiding GP and
other fields due to what they have to pay each year for malpractice
insurance.  I think the 2% doesn't include all the extra tests done to cover
possible suits.  We live in an ever increasing litigious society so some
fair adjustment needs to be made so that doctors can practice and new
doctors can be attracted to needed fields of practice and people who are
wronged are fairly compensated.  There is room for different points of view
and solutions without loosing any degree of compassion.

 

Peace,

 

Jack Gilles

 

 

On Sep 9, 2009, at 5:36 PM, David Walters wrote:





It is interesting that you would liken the providing of lift chairs and
electric wheel chairs to the high cost of medical liability insurance. As
one who suffered thru 4 years of mobility problems with no health coverage
that would cover either those two items, I can speak with some authority.
Your over wrought concern for the cost of providing such items demonstrates
your lack of human compassion for those who have not had to the good fortune
that you have always enjoyed. 

 

As for the cost of liability insurance. the best data I can find is that it
constitutes 2% of all medical expenses. To correct the problems that drive
this cost, most people in your profession wave the tort reform banner, What
this means is a "throw the baby out with the bathwater" approach that would
stop virtually all malpractice suits. That means that even those with
legitimate cases will go the same way as frivolous cases. Again, a lack of
compassion for those who truly suffer from the malpracitce of those in your
profession.    

 

The current opposition to healthcare reform is rooted and grounded in the
Republican ideology that was birthed in the midst of right-wing religious
,movement of the 70s and 80s that gave us Ronald Reagan as its patron saint.
This same mindset manifest itself yesterday where the school children of the
county I live in were not allowed to here President Obama speak to them
about doing good in school and working hard at growing up to productive
citizens.

 

What this country needs is a comprehensive intentional, futuric model for a
healthcare system that cares of all of our citizens. None of the so-called
leaders of the House and Senate on both sides of the aisle have proposed
anything that comes close. Excerpt for the bill voted out of the the late
Teddy Kennedy's committee, which strangely, no one is talking about.

 

This list is composed mainly of a group of people that once proclaimed that
the moral issue of our times is the 95-5% split or the out of balance
Economic triangle. I believe that the current issue of healthcare reform is
a subset of the same issue.

 

David Walters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The article by Feldman that you cite points to one of the most important
factors producing the high cost of American health care:  liability
insurance for doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical and medical device
manufacturers.  I would add to this the unregulated advertising of
prescription drugs that encourages people to self diagnose and demand that
their doctor prescribe something they have seen touted on TV, not to mention
the electric wheel chair industry spawned by a bureaucratic decision to
provide coverage.  Remember the recliners that would stand you up, if you
had trouble getting out of your chair?

 

Doctors and hospitals have had their reimbursement reduced by Medicare
stepwise in several reform efforts, and probably cannot be squeezed much
more.  Several specialties have seen their training programs under filled
because of the long training required coupled with reduced reimbursement.
Only 70% of the residencies in cardiac surgery filled this year.
Residencies in Dermatology and Plastic Surgery are over subscribed because
much of their services are not covered by Medicare and private insurance,
but are on a cash basis, reducing collection costs.  Family practitioners
and Internists are having a very difficult time.  Many rely on nurses and
physician assistants to monitor routine problems, freeing them for more
difficult tasks, like the paperwork required by Medicare and insurers.

 

I am not optimistic that requiring insurance companies to take all comers,
regardless of pre-existing conditions would somehow reduce costs.  It would
simply increase everyone else's premiums.  I know a couple of self-employed
people, who maintain a health savings account, have a high deductible
catastrophic policy that is affordable and pay their own routine medical
costs out of pocket.  They are highly motivated to stay well, and do.
People are motivated to seek only absolutely essential care when they have
to pay for it. 

 

The status quo is overly expensive, but the currently proposed legislation,
H.R. 3200 will not reduce costs without addressing tort reform which will
not only reduce costs to physicians and hospitals, but also drugs and
devices, and reduce the overuse of xrays, and tests in practicing "defensive
medicine".
.

 

Don Elliott

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