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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (119163)	8/17/2009 1:16:54 PM
From: marcher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

new caledonia just inched us out. -g- uh, now i gotta do google maps.

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (119163)	8/17/2009 7:00:38 PM
From: longnshort	2 Recommendations Respond to of 132070

MISLEADING FACT "What is best in our approach [to health care] is the exceptional quality it provides," Chicago Tribune columnist Steve Chapman writes. "Americans grasp that: A 2006 poll found that 89 percent were happy with the medical care they get. But President Obama and his allies in Congress don't seem to realize how good we have it," Mr. Chapman said. "He says though the United States spends more per person on medical care than any other nation, 'the quality of our care is often lower, and we aren't any healthier. In fact, citizens in some countries that spend substantially less than we do are actually living longer than we do.' "That's one of the favorite rationales for a government-led overhaul. But it gives about as realistic a picture of American medicine as an episode of 'Scrubs.' "It's true that the United States spends more on health care than anyone else, and it's true that we rank below a lot of other advanced countries in life expectancy. The juxtaposition of the two facts, however, doesn't prove we are wasting our money or doing the wrong things. "It only proves that lots of things affect mortality besides medical treatment. Heath Ledger didn't die at age 28 because the American health care system failed him. "One big reason our life expectancy lags is that Americans have an unusual tendency to perish in homicides or accidents. We are 12 times more likely than the Japanese to be murdered and nearly twice as likely to be killed in auto wrecks. "In their 2006 book, 'The Business of Health,' economists Robert L. Ohsfeldt and John E. Schneider set out to determine where the U.S. would rank in life span among developed nations if homicides and accidents are factored out. Their answer? First place."

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (119163)	8/17/2009 7:05:54 PM
From: longnshort	2 Recommendations Respond to of 132070

the numbers are bogus, depends on how you count infant mortality

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (119163)	8/17/2009 7:23:03 PM
From: longnshort	3 Recommendations Respond to of 132070

I wonder how many people know that comparative mortality stats are a bit bogus if every country uses different measures to count. Since the US is the only country using the strict WHO standards, any birth which shows the slightest sign of life, even for a second, is counted as a live birth, then as a death if the infant/fetus doesn't make it. Other countries use various criteria. Infants under 1 kg, or pre-17 weeks, or who live less than a full day, are often not counted as live births. The US using the higher standards will naturally show a higher infant mortality rate (and a lower life expectancy, by the way). Don't feel too bad about our "horrible" medical system: it's trying to save the marginal cases which runs up our mortality stats.

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (119163)	8/17/2009 11:37:56 PM
From: Skeeter Bug	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

Knighty, we are the greatest drug dispenser in the world. health comes well before one every sees a doctor the vast majority of the time. no medical system can make sick americans well, only americans that start to eat moderate amounts of real food can increase their wellness over the long term. in the interest of efficient posting... CA pension facts: the number of CA pensioners getting over $100k in annual pension is up 600% since 2004. extrapolate that... <g> oh, and the assembly staffer received a nice raise this year, too. only brute force will stop the government class from looting the common folk here in CA.

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (119163)	8/18/2009 11:44:40 AM
From: Knighty Tin	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 132070

Patricia Heaton, of "Everybody Loves Raymond," is one of the dumbest people I've ever seen on a tv show. She was on the nighttime version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" (with the obnoxious Regis Philbin instead of daytime host, likeable Meredith Vierra) to answer one question for charity: "If a Euro is worth $1.50, and you have 5 Euros, what is that in American coins?" A. 40 Quarters. B. 50 Dimes. C. 70 Nickles. D. 90 Pennies. Here's how the conversation went. Heaton: I can't do math. I went to Ohio State. This is an impossible question. How can you do this to me, Rege? Philbin: Just figure it out. If one Euro is $1.50, how much is 5 Euros? Heaton: I told you I'm no good at math. It went on and on, with Philbin coaching her. How many pennies in a dollar? How many dimes? Etc., etc. It was embarrassing. She finally got the multiple guess answer after Philbin eliminated the other 3 answers for her. She's not good looking enough to be that dumb. At least Kelly Pickerel, who was incredibly stupid on "5th Grader", is nice to look at while she's dumbing down the world. It was a good charity and I'm glad they got the money. BTW, earlier she had mentioned that she thought Midwesterners, like her, were smarter than folks on either coast. I think Midwesterners should excommunicate her. Ohio State should demand their diploma back. We know they are pretend for football players, but not for drama students.

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (119163)	8/18/2009 2:25:29 PM
From: longnshort	Respond to of 132070

VANCOUVER — Vancouver patients needing neurosurgery, treatment for vascular diseases and other medically necessary procedures can expect to wait longer for care, NDP health critic Adrian Dix said Monday. Dix said a Vancouver Coastal Health Authority document shows it is considering chopping more than 6,000 surgeries in an effort to make up for a dramatic budgetary shortfall that could reach $200 million. “This hasn’t been announced by the health authority … but these cuts are coming,” Dix said, citing figures gleaned from a leaked executive summary of “proposed VCH surgical reductions.” The health authority confirmed the document is genuine, but said it represents ideas only. “It is a planning document. It has not been approved or implemented,” said spokeswoman Anna Marie D’Angelo. Dr. Brian Brodie, president of the BC Medical Association, called the proposed surgical cuts “a nightmare.” “Why would you begin your cost-cutting measures on medically necessary surgery? I just can’t think of a worse place,” Brodie said. According to the leaked document, Vancouver Coastal — which oversees the budget for Vancouver General and St. Paul’s hospitals, among other health-care facilities — is looking to close nearly a quarter of its operating rooms starting in September and to cut 6,250 surgeries, including 24 per cent of cases scheduled from September to March and 10 per cent of all medically necessary elective procedures this fiscal year. The plan proposes cutbacks to neurosurgery, ophthalmology, vascular surgery, and 11 other specialized areas. As many of 112 full-time jobs — including 13 anesthesiologist positions — would be affected by the reductions, the document says. “Clearly this will impact the capacity of the health-care system to provide care, not just now but in the future,” Dix said. Further reductions in surgeries are scheduled during the Olympics, when the health authority plans to close approximately a third of its operating rooms. Two weeks ago, Dix released a Fraser Health Authority draft communications plan listing proposed clinical care cuts, including a 10-per-cent cut in elective surgeries and longer waits for MRI scans. The move comes after the province acknowledged all health authorities together will be forced to cut staff, limit some services and increase fees to find $360 million in savings during the current fiscal year. In all, Fraser Health is looking at a $160-million funding shortfall. D’Angelo said Vancouver Coastal’s deficit is closer to $90 million — almost a third of which ($23 million) has already been absorbed through reductions in non-clinical administration efficiencies. Vancouver Coastal performed 67,000 surgeries last year, an increase of 6,500 surgeries over 2007. “What has now happened is that now our wait times are about 25 per cent lower than the provincial average,” D’Angelo said. “We have put a dent in that wait list.” Brodie acknowledged surgical waiting times have dropped significantly in recent years, particularly for patients needing hip and joint replacements. He said the proposed cuts threaten those advancements. “It sounds like we are going backwards here,” he said. Total health spending in British Columbia was $15.7 billion this year, up about four per cent over last year’s total of 15.1 billion, according to figures provided by the ministry of health. Health Minister Kevin Falcon was unavailable for comment Monday on the proposed health-care cuts. A ministry spokesman said Falcon is away on his honeymoon until the end of August. Elsewhere in British Columbia, the province will look to replace the head of the Interior Health Authority, Murray Ramsden, after he announced he will step down at the end of the year. Ramsden has said his decision to retire is not related to financial problems faced by the authority.

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (119163)	8/18/2009 2:27:35 PM
From: longnshort	Respond to of 132070

Which health care system is the best? Written by Tim Worstall Monday, 17 August 2009 07:03 At first blush you might think this is an easy question to answer: which is the best health care system? The American? Our own dearly beloved NHS? The French, Swedish, German, Canadian systems? Then the real problem kicks in: best according to what criteria? Do we want a system which provides startlingly good care, like the US one, but patchily? One like ours that is a bureaucratic monstrosity but provides not all that terribly bad care to all? Do we go further with equality like the Canadians and near ban anyone at all from getting more than the government is willing to provide? Do we get the counties to run it, like the Swedes and the Danes? We might even go further: part of the huge cost of the American system is that for those insured they've squeezed almost all of the waiting out of the system. The Rational Planner might not think that this cost is worth it but the Americans themselves seem very attatched to that part of their system. Is not having to wait a sufficiently desirable part of a health care system that huge amounts should be spent upon achieving that goal? Your guess is as good as mine quite frankly: the criteria by which you judge these systems will depend upon your extant prejudices, little else. But how are those international comparisons of health systems done then? What criteria do they use? The WHO for example, telling us that France is top, the UK 18 and the US 37? Glenn Whitman has done the work here. Only 37.5% of the index comes from actually measuring health care itself. The rest is one or another measure of how that care is distributed (ie, equally or unequally) and how it is financed. When 62.5% of the weighting is given to the things we know that the US system is specifically bad at it's a surprise to see it quite as high as 37 th actually. The level of treatment must be pretty good to get it that high. But much more than that, when 62.5% of the weightings are given to the things that the NHS is supposed to be good at, was specifically designed to offer: financial fairness and equal care for all and still it only comes 18th? Well, it must actually be pretty bad at providing the actual health care, the health level and responsiveness, mustn't it? This might be a clue as to why no one has ever bothered to copy the British health care system for all we've been told for decades that it is the wonder of the world. adamsmith.org