September, 2009 archive
Mythbusters 0
T. R. Reid demolishes Five Myths About Health Care in the Rest of the World. (I recently highlighted a radio interview with him.)
A nugget:
It occurs to me that, for all the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans provides a buffer of physical security, they also provide a buffer for ignorance of what the rest of the big wide world is actually about.
Then, again, that may be irrelevant. Americans seem able to believe all kinds of lies about Canadian health care, and there is no ocean between Canada and the U. S., except, apparently, one of USAian ignorance.
Frankly, returning to a theme I mentioned earlier, the issue for most of my leftie buddies as regards health care is something that works in a cost effective and equitable way. The current system doesn’t; it’s not cost effective and it’s not equitable. Indeed, those whom the right revile as “leftist” tend to be remarkably non-ideological. I haven’t stumbled across anyone who gets any notice who is arguing, say, for nationalizing the railroads or airlines or grocery stores (now that would be socialism).*
The ideology is on the right, which has convinced itself that “for profit” is always a better way.
And it’s not always the better way. It’s just most of the time the better way. Health care is not part of the most of the time. Nor is the army nor police work (imagine a speed trap run by Swampwater).
And while we are on the subject, take time to visit Kiko’s House and read this description of the effects of extracting profit from the sick and the helpless.
T. R. Reid story via Will Bunch.
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*Perhaps the lack of ideology is why the American “left” is such a notoriously disunited bunch.
Another Day, Another Pack of Lies 1
FactCheck dot org. Follow the link for the full analysis:
Our inbox has been overrun with messages asking us to weigh in on a mammoth list of claims about the House health care bill. The chain e-mail purports to give “a few highlights” from the first half of the bill, but the list of 48 assertions is filled with falsehoods, exaggerations and misinterpretations. We examined each of the e-mail’s claims, finding 26 of them to be false and 18 to be misleading, only partly true or half true. Only four are accurate. A few of our “highlights”:
- The e-mail claims that page 30 of the bill says that “a government committee will decide what treatments … you get,” but that page refers to a “private-public advisory committee” that would “recommend” what minimum benefits would be included in basic, enhanced and premium insurance plans.
- The e-mail says that “non-US citizens, illegal or not, will be provided with free healthcare services” but points to a provision that prohibits discrimination in health care based on “personal characteristics.” Another provision explicity forbids “federal payment for undocumented aliens.”
- It says “[g]overnment will restrict enrollment of SPECIAL NEEDS individuals.” This provision isn’t about children with learning disabilities; instead, it pertains to restricted enrollment in “special needs” plans, a category of Medicare Advantage plans. Enrollment is already restricted. The bill extends the ability to do that.
- It claims that a section about “Community-based Home Medical Services” means “more payoffs for ACORN.” ACORN does not provide medical home services. The e-mail interprets any reference to the word “community” to be some kind of payoff for ACORN. That’s nonsense.
Death Panels 0
The real ones.