tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7476621888383604834.post3837986967042832668..comments2024-02-15T03:26:38.897-05:00Comments on Health Care Organizational Ethics: Massachusetts and the Future of Health ReformJim Sabinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03087828142188534542noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7476621888383604834.post-58021463899758600652010-07-06T08:06:57.390-04:002010-07-06T08:06:57.390-04:00Hi Dennis
Thank you for your comment. Given that ...Hi Dennis<br /><br />Thank you for your comment. Given that we have different perspectives, I'm especially glad you think my summary is OK.<br /><br />Your suggestion of what would have been best for small business is one I hadn't thought of. It makes good sense, but it would have less political impact than the front-page actions in April, which supports your analysis of what was going on.<br /><br />I agree that in the cockeyed health system we have in the U.S. there's no way to "specify" health costs, since there's no single budget that could do that. The closest we could come to learning to work within budgets at present is Medicare and Medicaid, and we haven't had the political will to do that yet. But as Massachusetts moves to a system of "accountable care organizations" we'll see organizations like Partners and Harvard Vanguard working with true budgets for the first time. My own view is that quality as well as value will improve when we do that.<br /><br />I wonder whether you think my suggestion of convening a multi-stakeholder working group could help us get past political grandstanding and finger pointing.<br /><br />Best<br /><br />JimJim Sabinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03087828142188534542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7476621888383604834.post-13187821335008333002010-07-06T06:55:17.989-04:002010-07-06T06:55:17.989-04:00This is a good summary of the events and timeline ...This is a good summary of the events and timeline but it is colored with a couple of phrases that illustrate your bias (which is OK; it's your blog):<br />1. You say Gov. Patrick was being "friendly to small business" in April and only peripherally being political. The fact that he killed the self-employed and small business insurance market right at the point in time when we all had to sign up for April-June shows he had no concern at all for us. A reasonable business-oriented thing to do in March/April would have been to say his Insurance department was going to thorougly review the July-Sept rates. Instead for political reaons, it's starting all over again for the July-Sept rates even as Patrick loses within his own administration what he always knew was wrong. Again, the market for small business and self-employed healthcare insurance is screwed up and no meaningful review will have taken place because the governor could care less about small business.<br />2. Neither the governor or anyone else can "specify" healthcare costs. Only the market can. When the democrats finally succeed in imposing their single-payer system, those Americans that can afford better health care -- lie Patrick -- will simply migrate the way Arab sheiks and the prime minister of Newfoundland does now. <br /><br />-- Dennis ByronAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com