Saturday, September 26, 2009

It's About the Middlemen

Published in the September 26, 2009 edition of the New York Times is a letter from a reader, Jack Luft. He acknowledges the complexity of the debate, proposals and the fixes.

But he truly hits the nail on the head with this point, "the difference this time is that the ... debate isn’t about the product, which is delivered by private-sector doctors and hospitals. It is about the middleman, who acts as arbiter of how health care is paid for."


1 comment:

  1. i believe that the health care fix should be centered around payment reform, fixing the payment system and preventing the adverse business practices too prevalent in the current 'system'. this would smooth out inequity (unfairness) and inefficiency (wasted resources).

    i see the options as follows (no particular order):
    *Single Payer
    *Hybrid, such as Public Option
    *Expansion of HSA's to everyone, with private &public funding
    *Do nothing

    envisioning payment reform as the central feature, or hub, of health care reform, the 'spokes' could then be IT, Quality Improvements, etc.

    if policy-makers cannot construct a central core or 'hub', the 'spokes' will never see the light of day

    cr

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