The Future Of Your Healthcare?
Sarah McIntosh, a lecturer in constitutional law and American politics at Wichita State University in Kansas, wrote in the Heartland Institute’s June 2009 Health Care News that “Oregon becomes (the) first state to officially ration health care,” explaining:
“The Oregon Health Services Commission has drawn up a formal procedure for rationing health care services available to recipients of taxpayer-subsidized coverage.
“The rationing policy may surprise low-income individuals on the state health care program, who could see treatments they need become unavailable due to changes in state-determined priorities.
“The commission listed 680 common medical procedures and treatments and ranked them in order of priority. Beginning in 2009, the commission will reimburse physicians only for procedures and treatments ranking in the top 503 of 680.
“This means a Medicaid recipient in need of a procedure the commission decided to rank 504th would be ineligible for that procedure.”
McIntosh quotes Linda Gorman, a health care economist, who said, “When government is given control over medical decision-making, politics is going to play a role in deciding what is funded.” McIntosh also comments on so-called “preventive care,” a subject frequently touted as a way to reduce health care costs. She writes:
“According to the commission, the state’s priorities emphasize preventive care because it is less expensive and more effective than treating those conditions later. But Gorman notes, “There is no evidence that preventive care will reduce expenditures for the general population.”
The Associated Press just reported: “President Barack Obama urged lawmakers Wednesday to work through partisan differences that are threatening health care legislation just as it starts moving through Congress.” The AP then wrote that after the meeting, “committee leaders said Obama was willing to listen to all sides but insisted that Congress must pass a bill this year that reins in costs and helps provide coverage to nearly 50 million uninsured people.”
Be sure your U.S. senators and representatives know your views on health care. You. You can send them e-mail by using the following “Web Forms” or phone them on Capital Hill at (202) 224-3121.