The last time the US examined massive government reform of the health care system, I was being paid to help improve claims processing. We had a solution that helped automate reception and processing of claims, which improved process efficiency pretty significantly. The effect of the national debate on the health care system, however, was to freeze all privately funded improvements until the dust settled.
Debate back then seemed to center on the role of the physician in health care decisions... who could possibly advocate blocking the physician's authority to help patients choose optimal care? Of course, debates about unhealthy influences on physician decisions (such as risk of malpractice litigation) were also prevalent.
I'm not a doctor and admittedly haven't read the two-thousand page bill. I'm enthusiastic about the effect of modern medicine on longevity and survival rates at all ages but am concerned with both the rising cost of health care as a percentage of National GNP and the unnatural pressures on physician/patient decisions.
Finding a system that informs good decisions and eliminates care deemed gratuitous from public funding seems appropriate, but drawing the line between urgent, wellness and gratuitous treatment will be tricky to legislate!
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