Coyote's blog post here was good too: The Only Health Care Cost Control Idea the Democrats Have Ever Had
April 8, 2010, 9:18 am
I think this article makes it clear that, no matter what the rhetoric, the only health care cost control idea Obama and the Democrats ever had was saying “no” to care. Whatever what one calls this (managed care, rationing, death panels) it is really not that much different from what insurance companies have been doing for years. And it is the real irony that Democrats passed this legislation feeding off anger of voters with insurance companies saying “no”, when their plan really depends on the government saying “no” even more often (or else there won’t be any cost savings).
The author argues that information is important for patients to make better decisions:
When patients are given information abou
t potential benefits and risks, they seem to choose less invasive care, on average, than doctors do, according to early studies. Some people, of course, decide that aggressive care is right for them — like the cancer patient (and palliative care doctor) profiled in this newspaper a few days ago. They are willing to accept the risks and side effects that come with treatment. Many people, however, go the other way once they understand the trade-offs.
They decide the risk of incontinence and impotence isn’t worth the marginal chance of preventing prostate cancer. Or they choose cardiac drugs and lifestyle changes over stenting. Or they opt to skip the prenatal test to determine if their baby has Down syndrome. Or, in the toughest situation of all, they decide to leave an intensive care unit and enter a hospice.
I agree, but I would go further — information and incentives are important. And the absolute most important bit of information when it comes to cost control is price, and patients under Obamacare have absolutely no incentive to give a sh*t about price even if they were informed of it. Exactly the opposite of the incentives I have had since I took on a high-deductible health care policy several years ago.
Update: Brad Warbiany discusses the proposed IPAB and its powers to shape health care spending in the context of Congress as an addict trying to control its impulses.
However, I think Brad underestimates the power of the board to be captured. What will result is rulings for more coverage of procedures with powerful lobbies, offset by less coverage of procedures with weaker lobbies, irrespective of the science. Just look at the diseases the NIH and NSF gives grant money for — the grants have nothing to do with the science of where research could be most productive and everything to do with diseases that have large and powerful constituencies.
Update #2: Isn’t it interesting to see the NY Times, after arguing for months that Obamacare was not about rationing, is now admitting that rationing is the key to success. It reminds me of this that I wrote a while back:
I have decided there is something that is very predictable about the media: they usually are very sympathetic to legislation expanding government powers or spending when the legislation is being discussed in Congress. Then, after the legislation is passed, and there is nothing that can be done to get rid of it, the media gets really insightful all of a sudden, running thoughtful pieces about the hidden problems and unintended consequences of the legislation.
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