Brainstorming Session: Health Care

5 Dec 2008 Author: B-Serious

Here’s another brainstorming session. The topic: Health care.

What’s the plan moving forward? What works and what doesn’t work? Do we have enough votes to push through a more aggressive/progressive agenda? If so, how aggressive? What do you want to see happen?

Let’s hear it JJP. And, as always, feel free to submit your comments, questions and concerns to Obama’s transition team at change.gov. Obama’s major thing so far has been transparency. Don’t miss a chance to take him up on it.

Get more information about Obama’s health care agenda, here.

In the meantime, here’s a short video taking a look behind the scenes at Obama headquarters:

Tags: Health Care, Obama Transition, President Obama

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djchefron
Two words. Single -Payer.
Trumystique
I wish I could wax poetic about this thing but I have to go to work. Here are the key components:
1.Single payer system
2. Rational and evidenced based health care decision making
ie incetivizing preventive care and reimbursing commensurately. We do a lot of crazy, expensive treatments that never increase quality of life. Have you ever been in a medical intensive care unit? Thats precisely what is lopsided about our health care system. A kid cant get dental care but an 87 year old women can spend hundreds of thousands of dolllars in an ICU at the end of her life.
3. Cost control that is informed by evidence based decisions
4. Negotiating with pharmaceutical companies on drug and medical device costs
5. Address physician debt as it drives specialty choice.
6. Address physician workforce distribution issues that drive many physicians to highly paid specialist care on the coasts. This feeds the high cost focus on incredibly expensive medical care that often doesnt improve quality of life or decrease mortality. And you have many areas in the country with primary care doctors
For any of this to be done lobbyist from physician groups, pharma companies and insurance plans have to be out of the mix. They will never vote for things that are not in their short term interest.
Trumystique
… areas in the country with primary care doctor shortages
http://www.jackandjillpolitics.com CPL
For once, the United States should be willing to look at how universal, single-payer health care is provided in other countries, and instead of reinventing the wheel, draft up a plan modified to work in the United States and implement it.
The difficulty in obtaining universal health care is that you must remember WHO DOESN'T benefit from having it: Big PhARMA, and the insurance companies. And the lobbyists are pouring millions of dollars into the pockets of Congress Critters who SAY they want universal healthcare; and at the same time, doing everything possible within Congressional rules to see that it does not happen.
Address the root cause; GET RID OF THE LOBBYISTS.
Tyren M.
Agree with above. Single Payer. Remove or lessen influence of Big Pharma lobbying. Also like idea of incentiving preventative care.
zulu426
Hey, everybody!!
I have submitted an idea on http://www.change.org that can be implemented while we wait for the major overhaul of the health care system that we so desperately need. It's called “Tax Benefits for Healthy Living.” The idea is currently ranked 4th and the top 3 advance to the next round. So, please VOTE!
With my idea, we can receive a tax benefit for our gym memberships, our reduction in BMI, smoking cessation, neonatal vaccination, etc…
Just as Americans receive tax benefits for environmentally friendly choices that promote a cleaner world and lessen our reliance on foreign, non-renewable resources, the same concept can be applied to healthy lifestyle choices that better our lives and ultimately lower health care costs. As a medical student with a public policy background, I'm intimately aware of how preventable issues, when avoided or caught early, are the most cost-effective and “low-tech” interventions we can engage in to prolong our lives and stretch our national budget. The earlier we start, the more benefits we accrue and the less cost. With our voluntary participation, we can produce a new generation of healthier, more responsible, more productive Americans while saving money. It's a no-brainer, win-win solution.
zulu426
Hey Tyren,
Check out my idea on http://www.change.org. It's called “Tax Benefits for Healthy Living” and it addresses your comments about preventative care. It's currently ranked 4th and the top 3 advanced to the 2nd round!
Check it out!!!
zulu426
Trumystique,
Check out my idea on http://www.change.org. It's called “Tax Benefits for Healthy Living” and it's currently ranked 4th! The top 3 go to the next round!
I've provided a brief synopsis above and I would greatly appreciate your vote!
Thanks!
http://bettychambers.com GoldenAh
Free health care facilities and hospitals. No paperwork at all.
freespiritbty
that is a great incentive! I hope tax benefits for healthy living is strongly considered.
zulu426
Thanks for your support and please pass the word. I'm just a medical student but I'm competing against health care advocates and public policy firms. So, help a brother out and spread the word. :)
rikyrah
EVENING THREAD IS UP
rikyrah
Single Payer.
And, we need more family/general practice doctors.
freespiritbty
It's an uphill battle, but I know you will be successful. I'll definetly spread the word. Good luck to you on your new career! :-)
spirit_55z
I waited to respond to this thread. Please bear with me, because I want to share an experience. Keep in mind that I'm a retired nurse of 30 years.
My vote goes for 1. Universal health care with emphasis on preventative medicine.
2. Single payer this cuts the greed of insurance companies, pharmacies and other specialty doctors ordering useless, nonsensical tests and treatments to make a buck.
3. Incentatives for good general practitioners & primary care MDs. There's tremendous shortage these days. These are the folks who have the capacity to spend quality time with us and provide us with the care we need and deserve.
THE TIME WE SPEND WITH OTHERS CAN BE A WISE CHOICE
Monday I accompanied a dear friend of mine to the hospital for a medical procedure. she hadn't been to any particular medical office before. The doctor was good, which was her main concern, but he struck my friend as abrupt and short.
It was the nurse who reassured her, answered her questions, and made her feel comfortable and confident about the procedure. That got us talking about health care in general, and how doctor have quotas to fill and paperwork to handle and an extremely limited amount of time tospend with each patient. But we also talked about the difference between treating a patient and treating a person. And between education and experience.
If I had to name the difference between knowledge and wisdom, or between education and experience, I would say that knowledge and education come from books. Wisdom and experience come from people.
This is true not only in the medical profession, but in all walks of life. Some experts get their credentials through educational degrees, and some through real-world experience. Ideally and eventually, people will have both–at least the people with whom we trust our health, our cars and computers, and anything else we have that's inneed of attention, treatment or repair.
I think the operative word here is “trust.” We want to know–or at least we need to believe–that people taking care of us and of our belongings truly are caring for us and not looking at us simply as a number, a paycheck, or a part of their own daily routine and requirements. We need to know that we are being listened to, that we matter. That our questions are being answered and our concerns are being addressed.
I read a study not long ago that found that doctors who spent a few more minutes with their patients had fewer lawsuits brought against them than other doctors did. In fact, there was a difference of three minutes between doctors who had never been sued at all and those who had been sued two or more times.
I often come across the quote that says, “People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.” I think we all would be wise to remember that. the knowledge cwe have can serve us well in our professional and personal lives, but it's wisdom we aquire when we spend time with people that can make the biggest difference in our lives and theirs.
spirit_55z
I waited to respond to this thread. Please bear with me, because I want to share an experience. Keep in mind that I'm a retired nurse of 30 years.
My vote goes for 1. Universal health care with emphasis on preventative medicine.
2. Single payer this cuts the greed of insurance companies, pharmacies and other specialty doctors ordering useless, nonsensical tests and treatments to make a buck.
3. Incentatives for good general practitioners & primary care MDs. There's tremendous shortage these days. These are the folks who have the capacity to spend quality time with us and provide us with the care we need and deserve.
THE TIME WE SPEND WITH OTHERS CAN BE A WISE CHOICE
Monday I accompanied a dear friend of mine to the hospital for a medical procedure. she hadn't been to any particular medical office before. The doctor was good, which was her main concern, but he struck my friend as abrupt and short.
It was the nurse who reassured her, answered her questions, and made her feel comfortable and confident about the procedure. That got us talking about health care in general, and how doctor have quotas to fill and paperwork to handle and an extremely limited amount of time tospend with each patient. But we also talked about the difference between treating a patient and treating a person. And between education and experience.
If I had to name the difference between knowledge and wisdom, or between education and experience, I would say that knowledge and education come from books. Wisdom and experience come from people.
This is true not only in the medical profession, but in all walks of life. Some experts get their credentials through educational degrees, and some through real-world experience. Ideally and eventually, people will have both–at least the people with whom we trust our health, our cars and computers, and anything else we have that's inneed of attention, treatment or repair.
I think the operative word here is “trust.” We want to know–or at least we need to believe–that people taking care of us and of our belongings truly are caring for us and not looking at us simply as a number, a paycheck, or a part of their own daily routine and requirements. We need to know that we are being listened to, that we matter. That our questions are being answered and our concerns are being addressed.
I read a study not long ago that found that doctors who spent a few more minutes with their patients had fewer lawsuits brought against them than other doctors did. In fact, there was a difference of three minutes between doctors who had never been sued at all and those who had been sued two or more times.
I often come across the quote that says, “People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.” I think we all would be wise to remember that. the knowledge cwe have can serve us well in our professional and personal lives, but it's wisdom we aquire when we spend time with people that can make the biggest difference in our lives and theirs.
spirit_55z
I waited to respond to this thread. Please bear with me, because I want to share an experience. Keep in mind that I'm a retired nurse of 30 years.
My vote goes for 1. Universal health care with emphasis on preventative medicine.
2. Single payer this cuts the greed of insurance companies, pharmacies and other specialty doctors ordering useless, nonsensical tests and treatments to make a buck.
3. Incentatives for good general practitioners & primary care MDs. There's tremendous shortage these days. These are the folks who have the capacity to spend quality time with us and provide us with the care we need and deserve.
THE TIME WE SPEND WITH OTHERS CAN BE A WISE CHOICE
Monday I accompanied a dear friend of mine to the hospital for a medical procedure. she hadn't been to any particular medical office before. The doctor was good, which was her main concern, but he struck my friend as abrupt and short.
It was the nurse who reassured her, answered her questions, and made her feel comfortable and confident about the procedure. That got us talking about health care in general, and how doctor have quotas to fill and paperwork to handle and an extremely limited amount of time tospend with each patient. But we also talked about the difference between treating a patient and treating a person. And between education and experience.
If I had to name the difference between knowledge and wisdom, or between education and experience, I would say that knowledge and education come from books. Wisdom and experience come from people.
This is true not only in the medical profession, but in all walks of life. Some experts get their credentials through educational degrees, and some through real-world experience. Ideally and eventually, people will have both–at least the people with whom we trust our health, our cars and computers, and anything else we have that's inneed of attention, treatment or repair.
I think the operative word here is “trust.” We want to know–or at least we need to believe–that people taking care of us and of our belongings truly are caring for us and not looking at us simply as a number, a paycheck, or a part of their own daily routine and requirements. We need to know that we are being listened to, that we matter. That our questions are being answered and our concerns are being addressed.
I read a study not long ago that found that doctors who spent a few more minutes with their patients had fewer lawsuits brought against them than other doctors did. In fact, there was a difference of three minutes between doctors who had never been sued at all and those who had been sued two or more times.
I often come across the quote that says, “People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.” I think we all would be wise to remember that. the knowledge cwe have can serve us well in our professional and personal lives, but it's wisdom we aquire when we spend time with people that can make the biggest difference in our lives and theirs.

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