privatizing Medicare

JCWisc at aol.com JCWisc at aol.com
Sat Jan 4 08:30:38 PST 2003


In a message dated 01/04/2003 5:26:58 AM Central Standard Time, cburford at gn.apc.org writes:


> The UK Conservative government's attempts to introduce market principles
> were delayed by detailed discussion stimulated by left wing health care
> workers, about what a market actually means. Who has information? How
> efficient is it? A market in baked beans is not the same as a market in
> kidney transplants.
<snip>
>
> Frist knows the dangers for health care organisations from within his own
> family. Are there not progressive groups of physicians for a national
> health service in the USA, who are watching this situation closely?
>
> Chris Burford
>
> London

The most prominent US physician's organization favoring a national single-payer system is Physicians for a National Health Program:

<http://www.pnhp.org/>

They are, I am sure, watching the situation closely. It remains to be seen how much visibility groups like PNHP will be able to achieve in the coming battle over Medicare during the new Congressional session. The voice of sweet reason tends to be drowned out by the barrage of advertising and propaganda, as we saw ten years ago. In the immediate, specific debate over Medicare, I think that organized seniors, i.e., AARP, will play a far more prominent role in opposition than groups like PNHP.

It is very difficult in the US to have a debate over the deficiencies of markets, since it seems to be popularly assumed that they have none.

Jacob Conrad



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