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The funny thing about all this health care reform stuff is that no political hack is really ready to “talk turkey.” The CBO director recently talked about the issue and because he is not a politician, he told the truth:

The Challenge
Rising health costs will put tremendous pressure on the federal budget during the next few decades and beyond. In CBO’s judgment, the health legislation enacted earlier this year does not substantially diminish that pressure.

Putting the federal budget on a sustainable path would almost certainly require a significant reduction in the growth of federal health spending relative to current law (including this year’s health legislation).

Keith Hennessey

Texas’ Health Care Picture

The bottom line is that the law that was passed didn’t fix the problem; namely that health care costs more than we have to spend. We need to reduce the cost of care. Seeing as insurance business is not very profitable for your local doctor, we need to reduce the cost of business for your doctor. That means malpractice reform amongst other things. Changes like these will not be popular politically. The lobby of trial attorneys will not like it.

States (like Texas) are seeing the bill for more of the uninsured being pushed their way as a function of the new health care legislation. They are bracing for the effects of this. The cure is limitations as to who and what will be covered. This will not be popular politically either.

Best Regards,

John Di Saia MD

The new healthcare law will pack 32 million newly insured people into emergency rooms already crammed beyond capacity, according to experts on healthcare facilities.

A chief aim of the new healthcare law was to take the pressure off emergency rooms by mandating that people have insurance coverage. The idea was that if people have insurance, they will go to a doctor rather than putting off care until they faced an emergency.

People who build hospitals, however, say newly insured people will still go to emergency rooms for primary care because they don’t have a doctor.

The Hill

So much for ObamaCare improving medicine for most Americans. It looks like many of you will be going to the Emergency Room to get your care. Lucky You.

Best Regards,

John Di Saia MD

For the second time in less than two weeks, the Canadian public health care system has flunked an international comparison test, says the Health Consumer Powerhouse (HCP), a research organization. Canada’s health care system ranks 23rd among 32 nations surveyed for quality, access and innovation.

According to researchers, wait times to see a doctor and receive treatment dragged the Canadian ranking toward the bottom:

* Patients were waiting between 3-15 months for treatment, when they could have received the same quality of care in Germany, France or the Netherlands in two weeks.
* While Canada is one of the highest per capita spenders on health care, patients don’t get much for their money.
* On the so-called “bang for the buck scale,” that measured health care results for the number of dollars spent, Canada ranks dead.

NCPA

For those who want to model the Canadian Health Care system in the US: Are you sure this is what you want?

Best Regards,

John Di Saia MD

P.S. For those of you looking for Dr D’s comedy podcasts, click here for the list.

The health-care reform law may push employer-provided health insurance out of financial reach for some people. One of the unintended consequences of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act recently pushed through Congress is that 38% of the nation’s employers may find that they have some employees unable to afford their health care.

Meanwhile, Health and Human Services reported last week that while the health-reform law will expand health insurance coverage to 34 million more people, national health-care spending will actually increase because of it, not decrease, as the White House has repeatedly said. By how much? $311 billion in the next 10 years, according to HHS, driving total spending during that time to over $35 trillion.

Fox Business

Is there any wonder that most of the changes of this bill reportedly do not take effect until after Obama’s presidency? And they say white men talk with forked tongues.

This may amount to yet another big money grab by Washington and we again may not really get anything from it except more taxation.

Best Regards,

John Di Saia MD