Comments on: Don’t Walk Away From Health Care Reform! http://cmahealthpolicy.com/2010/01/22/pass-the-senate-health-reform-bill/ A Division of the Center for Medicare Advocacy Sat, 19 May 2012 12:02:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: b http://cmahealthpolicy.com/2010/01/22/pass-the-senate-health-reform-bill/#comment-338 Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:23:15 +0000 http://cmahealthpolicy.com/?p=585#comment-338 Someone really needs to stop playing with people’s lives and people’s health and get rid of all the if’s, but’s, and’s & or’s. If a person is sick then they should have coverage because the premiums ARE BEING PAID FOR HEALTH CARE SERVICES whatever they might be. We need INSURANCE REFORM to correct all those deficiencies already. Stop the procrastination already and fix it!

]]> By: Amir http://cmahealthpolicy.com/2010/01/22/pass-the-senate-health-reform-bill/#comment-332 Thu, 18 Feb 2010 04:18:23 +0000 http://cmahealthpolicy.com/?p=585#comment-332 The current proposal in Congress does not address any of the most meaningful issues in health care:

1) The need for single-payer insurance Multi-payer systems inflate health care costs and give 8-12% of total health system costs to private insurers in system waste

2) True universality of coverage in a plan that doesn’t create a second-class citizenry of the insured Congressional plans still leave 10-15% of our country insured and create a second-class system of the poor insured that will place them below Medicaid recipients with respect to stigma and prioritization of care

3) The crisis of doctor shortages and primary care deficits in American medical care Doctors are retiring at record rates and they are only being replaced at 75-85% rate because of a monopoly and market-control of the MD control by the AMA. Also, we have a 2/3 primary care / specialist ratio and 40% less per-capita doctors than the best European and Scandinavian countries. We have plenty of dermatologists and radiologists but not enough doctors to complete basic screenings and offer fundamental preventative care

4) Tax shortages for the Federal government and a lack of funding for the Medicare (and Social Security) trust funds With a $13 trillion deficit and annual budget deficits of greater than $500B, our country and our entitlement programs are heading for bankruptcy without a 7% across the board tax cut. The idea of providing greater benefits without tax hikes is a myth impossible through policy

5) Tort reform and the end of defensive medicine The featured research section of my website discusses the true costs of defensive medicine, which are high and staggering. Most studies that indicate these costs are 0.5% of total system costs are flawed econometric studies that poorly measure true indirect effects on health care costs within our American system

My website addresses these issues, and many more, as they related to health policy, comparative health systems and public health. I encourage you to all check the site out and appreciate your visits. Every visit also raises money that goes 100% to charity to fight disease.

The url is: http://www.satvathealthcare.com

Thanks,
Amir Satvat
MBA in Health Care Management, The Wharton School
MPA in Health Policy and Management, New York University
Former Health Care Investment Banker, Goldman Sachs

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