Quick Links: Stossel, Wolf, Pharma Cronyism

John Stossel: "Keeping Business Honest". (Townhall.com, 5/23/2012).

Lots of good stuff, including "I used to believe that licensing doctors and lawyers protected consumers, but now I realize that licensing is always an expensive restraint of trade. It certainly hasn't barred quacks and shysters."

Dr. Milton Wolf: "Our Time For Choosing" (DailyCaller video). And his related OpEd, "An all-American family feud".


Cronyism update: "GOP probe uncovers deal between Obama and drug cos" (Washington Examiner, 5/16/2012)

Scherz and Armstrong: There Will Never Be Another Mayo Clinic

Dr. Hal Scherz and Dr. Richard Armstrong of Docs4PatientCare have a new piece in Townhall.com, "There Will Never Be Another Mayo Clinic".

New ObamaCare rules will essentially make it impossible for future doctors to create innovative organizations like the Mayo Clinic or Cleveland Clinic.

Here's an extended excerpt:

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) ends local-regional physician and patient control of medical decision making by shifting them to bureaucrats in Washington while fundamentally changing healthcare delivery models and reimbursement. Hospitals are the major beneficiaries of these changes- a requirement necessary for the American Hospital Association to support this law.

The law stipulates that physicians can no longer own hospitals. It also creates a new payment model for medical services which favors hospitals. The Accountable Care Organization (ACO), is an integrated healthcare delivery model devised to control costs by issuing a single payment for an episode of care for a patient. The ACO then divides the payment "fairly" among those involved in this episode. This payment model was unsuccessful in recent trials, but was so well supported by non-clinical health care planners who had the ear of the administration, that it was included in the law. Hospitals will typically be in charge of these ACO arrangements, because they already have the infrastructure required by the government for implementation.

In anticipation of this sea change, hospitals are engaged in a "feeding frenzy", buying up predominantly primary care practices, but specialty practices too. In many cities, hospitals compete for these practices, vying for control of as many patients as possible in a community. Once achieving "critical mass", with enough primary care practices, hospitals can approach a specialty group with a Mafia style "offer that they can't refuse". They make it clear to the specialty practice that the doctors who previously sent them patients are now controlled by them. They can either take the hospital’s offer for their practice or go out of business.

The end of private practice is imminent in an ACO world. Small practices will be unable to survive. What is not advertised is that in such a system, doctors become employees. Their allegiance is no longer to their patients, but to their boss, who is interested not in treating infections, or replacing hips, but in balance sheets, and return on investment.

(Read the full text of "There Will Never Be Another Mayo Clinic". )

President Obama has attempted to sell his health plan to voters on the grounds that it would provide Mayo Clinic health quality to all Americans.

However, the Mayo Clinic has opposed some major provisions of ObamaCare on the grounds it would impair their ability to provide good patient care.

Many doctors understand that the government cannot live up to its promises.  Let's hope enough voters will as well.

Catron: Catholic Institutions Revolt Against HHS

In the 5/23/2012 American Spectator, David Catron discusses how, "Catholic Institutions Revolt En Masse Against HHS Mandate".

He summarizes:

On Monday, 43 high-profile Catholic organizations, including the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. and the University of Notre Dame, filed suit against the Obama administration. In an open letter, the Archbishop of Washington summed up the collective position of the plaintiffs by explaining that the mandate "fundamentally redefines the nation's long-standing definition of religious ministry… HHS's conception of what constitutes the practice of religion is so narrow that even Mother Teresa would not have qualified."

As before, they are (properly) objecting to government mandates requiring them to provide contraceptive coverage to their employees.

I'm glad that the Catholic organizations are (belatedly) speaking up for their freedom.

However, David Harsanyi made the following related observation in his column, "Church of the Holy Contraception":

Perhaps the Catholic Church, which often seems to back economic "fairness" rather than market freedom, will be more sensitive to the intrusions of the state in economic choice. This episode exhibits how economic freedom is intricately tied to all other liberties. When the state creates virtual monopolies through regulatory regimes, it also gets to decide what is moral and necessary and compels everyone to act accordingly.

The Catholic organizations might not have had to file this recent lawsuit if they had previously taken a principled stance against ObamaCare before it became law.

Quick Links: Canada, Nanny State, MLR

Ontario government "slashes" fees paid to doctors, in order to save money.

(Because the government is the "single payer", the physicians basically have two choices: Like it or lump it.)

Nanny state update: "Utah High School Fined $15,000 for Selling Soda".

(But it's for the children, so it's ok.)

"Medical Loss Ratio" (MLR) mandates under ObamaCare are driving private insurance agents out of business.  (Via Brian Schwartz.)

Hsieh PJM OpEd: Dr. Orwell Will See You Now

The 5/22/2012 edition of PJMedia.com has published my latest OpEd, "Dr. Orwell Will See You Now".

I discuss the various forms of deceptive language ObamaCare advocates in and out of the government are now using to sugarcoat and obfuscate its true nature.

Terms like "affordable", "protection", "autonomy", "marketplace", and "coverage" all take on new meanings for ObamaCare supporters. They even have their own version of Orwell's famous "Slavery is Freedom".

Don't be fooled by their health care Newspeak!

See full text: "Dr. Orwell Will See You Now"

Quick Links: Privacy, Batteries, Innovation

Your medical privacy is not as secure as you might think.  (See the 5/11/2012 newsletter from Citizens' Council for Health Freedom has more details.)

Medical News Today reports, "Kids' ER Visits Due To Batteries Double".

As the OHPCenter notes, "Kudos to the Center for Injury Research and Policy for offering rational, rights-respecting recommendations to parents and electronics manufacturers regarding battery safety, and for *not* issuing a call for national safety regulation.

Grace-Marie Turner reports, "Innovation In The Health Care Sector Marches Forward".

Good News On Personal Genetic Testing

People can and do use their personal genetic data appropriately.

 From the 5/17/2012 NIH News, "NIH-led study finds genetic test results do not trigger increased use of health services":

People have increasing opportunities to participate in genetic testing that can indicate their range of risk for developing a disease. Receiving these results does not appreciably drive up or diminish test recipients' demand for potentially costly follow-up health services, according to a study performed by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and colleagues at other institutions.

(Read the full text.)

If people wish to pay to know their genomic data, they should be allowed to in order to help them manage their lives and their health better.

Related: "Should You Be Allowed to Know What’s in Your DNA?" (PJMedia, 7/15/2010)

Reliability of Clinical Practice Guidelines?

I haven't read any more on this yet, but this abstract caught my eye: "A critical evaluation of oncology clinical practice guidelines", to be presented at the 2012 meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

Summary: Researchers reviewed 168 clinical practice guidelines for treatment of 4 common cancers (breast, lung, colon, prostate).
 
None (i.e., 0) of them met IOM (Institute of Medicine) standards for reliability or trustworthiness.

 I'm just glad mandated use of practice guidelines isn't being imposed by ObamaCare. Oh, wait...

Wolf Unleashed

Dr. Milton Wolf begins a new video series at the Daily Caller.

Here's the first installment:


And feel free to check out his blog!

Hsieh Forbes OpEd: Who Should Control Your Healthcare Spending?

The Forbes website has published my latest OpEd, "Just Who Should Control Your Healthcare Spending?" (5/15/2012)

The theme is that America needs market-based health reforms such as Health Savings Accounts which reduce costs while preserving quality medical care, not government-mandated "bundled payments" which will harm patients and literally set a price on human life.

Here is the opening:

What simple health care reform has reduced medical costs by up to 30%, while preserving quality of care? Hint: It's not government price controls or mandatory health insurance. Rather, it's letting patients decide how to spend their own health care dollars...

(Read the full text of "Just Who Should Control Your Healthcare Spending?")

I'm honored to appear on the Forbes website, and I'd like to thank readers who have shared this piece via Facebook, Twitter, blogging, e-mail, etc.