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Politics : A US National Health Care System? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (12145)	12/8/2009 6:35:10 PM
From: TimF	1 Recommendation Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 42652

Buying Into Medicare 08 Dec 2009 02:56 pm So now that the public option is dead, Democrats are floating the idea of letting 55-to-64 year olds buy into Medicare. I'm not sure I understand how this works. Problem A: good old adverse selection. Unlike younger people who are mostly worried about catastrophic accidents, people in this age group are mostly worried about slow-moving diseases like diabetes. Even with an open enrollment period, people might wait until they got sick. What is a Medicare buy-in going to do if the check gets lost in the mail, or someone forgets? Insurance companies cut you off. Medicare is going to have a hard time telling some nice sixty year old woman that oops, they're not going to treat her cancer after all because she didn't make the payment deadline. If they operate like any other government agency--pay off your arrearages and we'll restore service--they'll hemorrhage money as people figure out that the sensible thing to do, unless you're already sick, is to buy in for one month, and then "forget" to mail in the rest of the checks. Second problem: administration. One of the reasons for Medicare's much-vaunted administrative costs is that they don't need to do the ordinary sorts of customer service things that insurance companies do. They collect premiums by deducting them from your social security check. No one terminates their "policy" unless they die. You're talking about adding a substantial new bureaucracy to Medicare that will be expensive. By the time you're done, how much cheaper will this be than what that age group can currently buy on the open market? Third problem: Budget deficits. Medicare is currently driving our budget off a cliff. Adding to the number of constituents that enjoy the service is not going to improve the fiscal picture, or the prospects for serious reform. meganmcardle.theatlantic.com

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (12145)	12/9/2009 8:13:34 AM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42652

"To call the dangers of this legislation "death panels" obscures the real-life consequences to Americans" Notice that Hentoff, too, objects to that rhetoric.

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (12145)	12/9/2009 12:49:56 PM
From: average joe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42652

Agency aims to address Saskatchewan doctor shortage By Jenn Sharp, For The StarPhoenix December 8, 2009 Comments The province is hopeful a new recruitment agency that begins its work in the spring will help address a shortage of physicians in Saskatchewan. The agency is aimed at bringing more physicians to rural and urban Saskatchewan and keeping them in the province. Plans for the agency were announced earlier this year. It has been allocated $1.5 million and will be led by a nine-member board. The board members will be selected from the Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA), health regions, the University of Saskatchewan college of medicine, the Professional Association of Interns and Residents of Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association and the provincial government. "If there is one issue I hear more than anything else around the caucus table, . . . it's about the shortage of physicians," said Health Minister Don McMorris, who launched the agency at a press conference Monday. He said the agency will be a one-stop contact point for physicians seeking to set up practice in Saskatchewan. It will improve co-ordination and communication among health regions, communities and University of Saskatchewan medical graduates. The agency will also reduce competition for doctors among health regions and communities, and provide recruitment expertise. McMorris outlined the goals over the next four years for the agency and said one of the main issues is the annual turnover of physicians in Saskatchewan. The rate is between 12 and 13 per cent, and McMorris says the goal is to reduce that number to less than 10 per cent. The agency also aims to increase the number of U of S medical students and residents who train outside Saskatoon by 25 per cent and increase the number of Canadian-trained doctors working in the province by 10 per cent. Another goal is to increase the number of graduates establishing practices in Saskatchewan by 10 per cent. "Initially, the agency will focus on retaining our U of S graduates so that the people of Saskatchewan benefit from the dollars spent training doctors here in this province. At the same time, we will promote Saskatchewan to physicians as a great place to live and work," said McMorris. Dr. William Albritton, dean of the U of S college of medicine, feels the main reason graduates leave the province is because "they don't feel wanted here." He says many graduates say they were never asked to stay in Saskatchewan. The agency will increase the number of post-graduate and residency seats to retain graduates, he said. Along with ensuring the province has enough doctors, more personal support for spouses and family is also needed, according to Dr. Martin Vogel, executive director of the SMA. "The ability for you and your family to be happy is critical," he said. "Our goal has to be for Saskatchewan to become the preferred place to practise medicine in this country." The biggest hurdle the program faces, according to McMorris, is a lack of "uniformity" among health regions and communities. The NDP Opposition says the physician recruitment agency is a long-term solution that does not address the current needs of rural communities. Health critic Judy Junor says the Saskatchewan Party government has had two years to address the doctor shortage in the province and "hasn't done anything. "There's a lot of announcements but no action." Junor points to regions such as the Cypress Health Region, which will not have acute-care services during the Christmas holidays. These services will not be available at Maple Creek's hospital from Dec. 28 to Dec. 31, which Junor says is "alarming. . . . Waiting until the spring to launch this program is too late." thestarphoenix.com