Yes, we need reform. Tort reform, EMTLA policy reform, address the problem of healthcare for illegal aliens. What we don't need is a government monopoly of healthcare.
And, oh, by the way, for those of you who still think that all those protestors at Townhalls are simply right wing wackos or dupes for special interests, there's a great piece in yesterday's WSJ by former NY Lt. Governor Betsey McCaughey who recounts, in chilling detail, the words of Ezekiel Emanuel, Obama's chief health care advisor and brother of Rahm, that is a must read for everyone:
Dr. Emanuel says that health reform will not be pain free, and that the usual recommendations for cutting medical spending (often urged by the president) are mere window dressing. As he wrote in the Feb. 27, 2008, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA): "Vague promises of savings from cutting waste, enhancing prevention and wellness, installing electronic medical records and improving quality of care are merely 'lipstick' cost control, more for show and public relations than for true change."
True reform, he argues, must include redefining doctors' ethical obligations. In the June 18, 2008, issue of JAMA, Dr. Emanuel blames the Hippocratic Oath for the "overuse" of medical care: "Medical school education and post graduate education emphasize thoroughness," he writes. "This culture is further reinforced by a unique understanding of professional obligations, specifically the Hippocratic Oath's admonition to 'use my power to help the sick to the best of my ability and judgment' as an imperative to do everything for the patient regardless of cost or effect on others."
Did everyone get that?
True reform must include redefining doctors' ethical obligations.
The chart above accompanied the WSJ article and was used by Dr. Emauel to illustrate the ages on which health care spending should be focused. This chart originally accompanied an article in the medical journal "The Lancet".
Read McCaughey's whole article here.
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