tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740670447258719504.post5125018614300217213..comments2024-03-27T03:00:27.024-04:00Comments on Facts & other stubborn things: Thoughts on health reformEvanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259004160963531720noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740670447258719504.post-75100710014948615142013-11-01T23:50:38.696-04:002013-11-01T23:50:38.696-04:00“It always seemed to me health reform should have ...“It always seemed to me health reform should have the goal of lowering costs and expanding coverage.”<br /><br />Wasn’t that an oxymoron in the first place? Very wishful thinking by certain people? Not to say a blatant lie? Populism in its purest form?<br /><br />How would people want to achieve that anyway? By a thing called “leveraging competition“, I assume? What does this mean in reality? The most common theory I hear goes like this: <br />Concentrated purchasing power is keeping costs low. If you’re a physician or a hospital, you have to accept the rates.<br /><br />Those speeches come from same politicians that demand minimum wages to “help” low-skilled workers and want big raises for teachers so that the education system gets “better”. <br /><br />So in other words: What’s supposed to be bad for low-skilled workers and teachers is a good thing for nurses and physicians? <br /><br />I want to see the politician that says to a teacher: Well from now you have to deal with 40 instead of 30 students but don’t worry as a compensation we cut down your payment. And then he turns to the crowd and says: “And by doing this your children get a better education, believe me.” And the crowd goes: “Yeah!” <br /><br />I admire this politician. He is really good at this job (if you define politics as populism only).<br />Simon Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740670447258719504.post-11880792441895998792013-10-31T21:57:25.273-04:002013-10-31T21:57:25.273-04:00I'm curious as to why you don't think Obam...I'm curious as to why you don't think Obama lied about people being able to keep their current health plan. Was that not what he said? And didn't he know otherwise? And aren't a lot of people, including many of his supporters, surprised about losing their plan?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740670447258719504.post-83493884125939326672013-10-30T22:26:47.816-04:002013-10-30T22:26:47.816-04:00I would consider this more of a compromise plan th...I would consider this more of a compromise plan than a libertarian plan. It looks pretty economically sound to me. You left out dealing with the AMA. I would add allowing hospitals to buy major equipment without first gaining permission from state review boards. It's time to free technology from the artificial constraints. Allowing medical service providers to provide free service if they wish is another change I would like to see. It seems like forcing people into the system is more important to the ACA supporters than getting people low cost solutions.Ken Pnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740670447258719504.post-2859592028862145232013-10-30T15:41:34.714-04:002013-10-30T15:41:34.714-04:00Writing one right now on how Krugman is the preemi...Writing one right now on how Krugman is the preeminent Smithian economist of our day.<br /><br />Will that do it?<br /><br />The weird thing is I feel like I've been getting a lot of flack from libertarians lately despite my shared sense that I'm on a libertarian posting binge.<br /><br />They feel threatened by the competition, I guess ;-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1740670447258719504.post-11764648945704410802013-10-30T15:35:47.047-04:002013-10-30T15:35:47.047-04:00Between your thoughts on the VA governor race, you...Between your thoughts on the VA governor race, your post on the minimum wage, and now this, if you want to be able to keep insisting that you are not a libertarian, I think you are going to have to do a post defending Malthus, Marx, Kalecki, or drone strikes, immediately.aaronnoreply@blogger.com