Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (66807)	9/3/2004 6:41:15 PM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 793822

For those of you still enamored with Government Health Care Posted by McQ Q and O blog A story out of Canada which makes the point that just because the government is involved its going to be better. In fact, it may just get worse. Hospitals in Ontario say they're facing a shortfall of $600 million and they say that makes it almost certain there will be cuts to services, including day surgery and emergency room care. The Ontario Hospital Association says administrators have no choice but to cut medical services because of a 2004 law that says the province's 159 hospitals must balance their books by 2005-2006, and can no longer run a deficit to maintain services. So its saying that the hospitals must at least break even. Yet it controls how much is paid for medical care. Maybe you can reconcile that but I'm having a difficult time with it. Since the hospitals can't charge more for what they do, they then have little choice but to not do some things which cost more than they can collect. Make sense? "Ontario's hospitals are being forced to make some very difficult choices about the type and level of care they can continue to provide patients," said Hilary Short, the association's chief executive. The province has drawn up a list of hospital offerings that cannot be cut, like cardiac and dialysis services, putting more pressure on services considered less essential, like diabetes and arthritis clinics, and obstetrical beds. In other words, medical care marches backward in Ontario. And, of course, the demand for treatment for the procedures and level of care these cuts will eliminate will remain the same. Result: Probably a whole lot of Canadians visiting US clinics across the border. In Ottawa, Health Minister George Smitherman repeated his comments there would be no more top-ups for hospitals. "That's what I said today, and what I've been clear with hospitals is that that's the amount of money that the government of Ontario is in a position to provide," Smitherman told reporters. In the provincial budget, hospitals received a 4.3-per-cent increase, worth $469 million. In February, the province gave hospitals $385 million to cover deficits for the last fiscal year. Smitherman has apparently realized that regardless of good intentions, finite assets cannot meet infinite need. You can't set a level of payment below the level of cost and expect hospitals to be able to break even. So, as I once pointed out, you end up rationing health care to achieve that balance. Instead of rationing through money and market, the Canadians are going to ration through denying a certain level of treatment. Regardless of the system, health care will be rationed. Hospital officials say their costs have increased because of a growing and aging population, rising drug costs and higher wages. The part of the market which is allowed to work continues to work but has a dramatic impact on the part which isn't allowed to work. Not good. They'd flunk Econ 101. But you can't tell that to the socialists.

To: LindyBill who wrote (66807)	9/3/2004 11:12:48 PM
From: Nadine Carroll	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 793822

The former POWs in the ad, Kenneth Cordier and Paul Galanti, serve on the VA's 12-member Former POW Advisory Committee. VA Secretary Anthony Principi appointed Cordier in 2002 and Galanti in 2003. If this is the best they can do for dirt, those Swiftvets must be squeaky-clean.

To: LindyBill who wrote (66807)	9/3/2004 11:54:16 PM
From: t4texas	Respond to of 793822

max cleland is also a bush appointment to the world bank (or is it ex-im bank?). i suppose cleland is close to the bush campaign too.