[Peace-discuss] a critique of american medicine and theflexner report

[Jenifer Cartwright]

Well, it's for the same reason that other big complicated machines are expensive -- combines, telescopes like the Hubble, planetarium projectors like Adler's or Parkland's... and most med facilities pay for them by charging patients and their ins companies for their use. This would all go away for individuals and their for-huge-profits ins companies if we got rid of the latter and replaced them entirely w/ government funded plans... but that would be socialized medicine, unacceptable to those wanting less gov't involved (while wanting yet more gov't involved -- medicare, overturning Roe v Wade, etc). Welcome to the Rabbit Hole. --Jenifer


--- On Mon, 4/19/10, E.Wayne Johnson <ewj at pigs.ag> wrote:

From: E.Wayne Johnson <ewj at pigs.ag>
Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] a critique of american medicine and theflexner report
To: 
Cc: "peace discuss" <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
Date: Monday, April 19, 2010, 1:28 AM



 
 


 
Why are MRI's and CTs expensive?
 
The machines are sitting there.  The 
technician is there.  Those
are sunk costs.  Does an MRI machine degrade 
by some fraction every time
it is used?  Does a CT machine use a lot of 
expendibles causing the high cost?
 
People seem to be so mystified by doctors that they 
dont ask any questions.
 
They are also terrified that if they dont pay 
tribute to the medical industrial complex,
their doctors will let them die.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: 
  Jenifer 
  Cartwright 
  To: Stuart Levy ; E.Wayne Johnson 
  Cc: peace discuss 
  Sent: Monday, April 19, 2010 12:05 
  PM
  Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] a critique 
  of american medicine and theflexner report
  

  
    
    
      Sometimes doctors recommend expensive procedures such as 
        MRIs or CT Scans to rule out e g CA, stroke, heart attack. If the 
        results are positive, I guess the procedures were necessary, but if 
        they're negative, then I guess they weren't, huh?
         --Jenifer

--- On Sun, 4/18/10, E.Wayne Johnson 
        <ewj at pigs.ag> 
        wrote:

        
From: 
          E.Wayne Johnson <ewj at pigs.ag>
Subject: Re: 
          [Peace-discuss] a critique of american medicine and theflexner 
          report
To: "Stuart Levy" <slevy at ncsa.uiuc.edu>
Cc: 
          "peace discuss" <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
Date: 
          Sunday, April 18, 2010, 4:21 PM


          actually some people do just what Baker says, 
          going to India for some surgeries
and to other countries like China 
          for dental care.  I know of people who come back to China to have 
          their teeth fixed and they can save enough money to pay for their air 
          ticket and get a visit with the family to boot.

I dont agree 
          with every thing the guy says but he makes some interesting 
          points.

Insurance has indeed led to many abuses.  On a 
          couple of occasions members of my family were requested to have 
          unnecessary and costly examinations and we were given as a defense, 
          "your insurance will pay for it".


----- Original Message 
          ----- From: "Stuart Levy" <slevy at ncsa.uiuc.edu>
To: 
          "E.Wayne Johnson" <ewj at pigs.ag>
Cc: "peace 
          discuss" <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
Sent: 
          Monday, April 19, 2010 4:58 AM
Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] a 
          critique of american medicine and theflexner report


> On 
          Mon, Apr 19, 2010 at 03:51:38AM +0800, E.Wayne Johnson 
          wrote:
>> My contention has long been that one of the primary 
          problems with medical
>> care in the USA is that there are 
          too few providers and that the number of
>> health care 
          providers is held low artificially by the deceit of the AMA. 
          I
>> have suggested a drastic loosening of the standards to 
          promote more
>> providers.  There havent been many 
          takers for my notions, but here someone
>> examines the 
          history of medicine and the Flexner report and the fake 
          reform
>> of Obama and Co.
>> 
>> http://mises.org/daily/4276
> 
> 
          Actually, economist Dean Baker agrees with you on this -- at least 
          that
> US medical providers are deliberately being kept scarce, 
          and that
> this raises the cost of medical care.  He's said 
          a number of times
> that any consistent supporter of free trade 
          should oppose this highly
> protectionist policy.
> 
          
> Baker also promotes medical tourism as a way to provide 
          competition
> to the overpriced US system, though I'm uneasy 
          with this.
> It seems as though it would entice medical tourist 
          destinations'
> providers to flock to (likely better-paying) 
          private tourist clinics,
> at the expense of their own domestic 
          medical systems.
> 
> 
> There are some pretty 
          half-baked things in this Mises article though.
> For-profit 
          hospitals have better incentives than nonprofit ones
> to 
          control costs?  Not in our system, where costs and 
          effectiveness
> are not transparent.  Insurance of routine 
          procedures leads to
> overuse of services?  Has the author 
          never heard of the effectiveness
> of preventive care, or the 
          value of public health measures?
> 


-- This message 
          has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by MailScanner, 
          and is
believed to be 
          clean.

_______________________________________________
Peace-discuss 
          mailing list
Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss


-- 

This message has been scanned for viruses and

dangerous content by
MailScanner, and is

believed to be clean.
 

-----Inline Attachment Follows-----

_______________________________________________
Peace-discuss mailing list
Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss



      
-- 
This message has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
believed to be clean.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.chambana.net/pipermail/peace-discuss/attachments/20100419/b379d14d/attachment.html>