My theme is that the federal government's proposed new model of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) is dangerous because it will corrupt the doctor-patient relationship and stifle genuine health delivery innovations. Here is the opening:
Suppose President Obama declared he would tackle rising food prices by forcing everyone to eat at government-supervised restaurant chains. Small restaurants would be nudged to merge with national ones. Bureaucrats would monitor menu items and prices. Restaurants would record orders in a central database to ensure meals adhered to federal nutrition guidelines.(Read the full text of "Here comes Obamacare's Big Brother: Accountable Care Organizations". This piece will appear in both the online edition as well as the weekly print edition.)
Most Americans would be outraged at such infringements of their basic freedoms. Yet this is precisely the approach the Obama administration is taking by pushing doctors and hospitals into government-supervised Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs).
For more on how Dr. Brian Forrest uses "direct pay" and price transparency to achieve such remarkable results in his small clinic in Apex, NC, see this eye-opening video:
Here's a related shorter news video covering much of the same material:
I'm honored to once again appear in the pages of the Christian Science Monitor. My earlier two CSM pieces were:
"Health Care in Massachusetts: A Warning for America" (9/30/2009)
"Universal Healthcare and the Waistline Police" (1/7/2009)
