tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7323692122514281455.post1859100538227117332..comments2024-03-22T17:05:55.267-04:00Comments on MD Whistleblower: Privatizing Social Security and Medicare: Who Can Defuse Political Dynamite?Michael Kirsch, M.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07555280388086931097noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7323692122514281455.post-40171243744543481142011-06-18T21:27:47.657-04:002011-06-18T21:27:47.657-04:00Oops. Kerry. I'm sorry.Oops. Kerry. I'm sorry.A. Baileynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7323692122514281455.post-28239298727953056012011-06-18T21:26:20.508-04:002011-06-18T21:26:20.508-04:00If the patient is healthy, over 50 and never had c...If the patient is healthy, over 50 and never had colorectal screening, colonoscopy is an appropriate test for someone complaining of gas. <br /><br />Stomping out "waste and fraud" is about as productive as "fairly taxing the rich". Say what you want, but the middle class will get stuck with higher taxes and innocent medical practitioners will be nailed by self-perpetuating regulatory agencies. Then people like Kenny will wonder why people are getting out of medicine.A. Baileynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7323692122514281455.post-70481574295730496602011-06-18T09:19:33.900-04:002011-06-18T09:19:33.900-04:00I'm laughing at anonymous' comment but he ...I'm laughing at anonymous' comment but he is certainly right. Right now there is no better way of securing ourselves but to do it ourselves by living a very healthy lifestyle till we grow old. That's the biggest point. If you don't want to get sick, then live a healthy lifestyle. Prevention is better than cure. Humana Walmart Preferred Rx PremiumAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7323692122514281455.post-39515829026897763912011-06-16T22:38:41.939-04:002011-06-16T22:38:41.939-04:00Just seeing how to put my name in instead of anon,...Just seeing how to put my name in instead of anon, because I wouldn't want to further upset Mr. Bailey :) No really it's because I'm a Luddite & don't know how to join the "things" in the profile list - so here goes...Kerrynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7323692122514281455.post-74863379521285452322011-06-16T20:46:39.966-04:002011-06-16T20:46:39.966-04:00@A Bailey unnecessary medical care is when you hav...@A Bailey unnecessary medical care is when you have gas, and you decide to have a colonoscopy for gas or bout of diarrhea Bailey. The doctor should decide when/if you need that procedure. A better course of action might be to take gas ex or pepto bismol before undergoing an unnecessary, expensive, and invasive procedure. KerryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7323692122514281455.post-85029655405989476572011-06-16T20:27:42.059-04:002011-06-16T20:27:42.059-04:00@TB & Kirsch MD It's not the only ( or eve...@TB & Kirsch MD It's not the only ( or even main) solution but it does seem of late that there's a better and more sustained crackdown on Medicare fraud. Especially in states like FL where it's most needed. When you begin to learn about private corporations such as Walgreens defrauding Medicare to the tune of $35m (35 that we know of) it puts the level of widespread criminality pertaining to medicare into perspective. So measures taken to stop fraud and recoup when possible are imperative. <br /><br />As TB mentioned making primary care more attractive and Mr. Kirsch talks about the enormous waste related to unnecessary testing/treatments (that perhaps costs the system as much as fraud?) - the medical home model comes to mind. It appears to be something that should inherently help contain Medicare spending where reimbursement would adjust fee- for-service payments. <br />With it's focus also being on primary care physicians working as team with specialists (consistently and always) one would imagine this could hugely impact unnecessary testing and the like. <br /><br />Thanks - KerryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7323692122514281455.post-10230545544021912632011-06-16T20:13:27.042-04:002011-06-16T20:13:27.042-04:00Michael, I wish you'd prohibit anonymous poste...Michael, I wish you'd prohibit anonymous posters. Make them choose a clever moniker, at least. <br /><br />Anonymous, I'm absolutely dead-on serious. My comment was factually accurate. It's not my fault that the government is running a Ponzi scheme. I've paid a huge amount of money into the system. I want some of it back when I retire. If the government has spent the money already, then the productive generation is the only one who can show us the money. <br /><br />Talk about "unnecessary care" always makes me nervous. Unnecessary for whom? And who decides? Are we going to us some hideous monstrosity such as Quality Adjusted Life Years? Who will determine that? Obama's cabinet?A. Baileynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7323692122514281455.post-21895950752414680632011-06-16T15:00:10.496-04:002011-06-16T15:00:10.496-04:00Michael Kirsch: Agree completely with all of your...Michael Kirsch: Agree completely with all of your points.Toni Brayer, MDnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7323692122514281455.post-15219553993298126612011-06-16T13:05:03.908-04:002011-06-16T13:05:03.908-04:00Comments appreciated all.
@TB,all of us agree wi...Comments appreciated all. <br />@TB,all of us agree with the objective, it's the strategy that divides us. I don't support the taxpayers being the primary source to rescue Medicare. When Medicare was enacted,life expectancy was 70. Today, it's 78. As you know, there are much fewer workers today supporting our retirees. It is mind boggling that we haven't raised the Medicare eligibility age in response to these realities. Personally, I don't think we can tax our way out of this situation. The program needs to be restructured and the public's (and the medical profession's) insatiable appetite for every conceivable medical test or treatment must be addressed. Politically, this has proved impossible, as was demonstrated during the mammography revised guidelines issued by the USPSTF last year. Everyone supports 'reform' as long as he is not affected by it. And, of course, there is no brake on the system when patients are insulated from the costs of their care. I think the wasted $$$ from uneccessary medical care could provide coverage for the uninsured with plenty of cash left over. I see overtreatment and overtesting every day, and I am sure some of it originates in my own office.Michael Kirsch, M.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07555280388086931097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7323692122514281455.post-76721446995128386562011-06-16T00:27:39.412-04:002011-06-16T00:27:39.412-04:00Nations without a safety net are called third worl...Nations without a safety net are called third world countries. It's every man for himself and wealthy people send their kids to private schools, buy expensive health care (by traveling to other countries) and have their own generators for electricity. Bodyguards and gated communities keep the dirty poor out of sight. Taxes are low and mass transit is non-existent. This is not the country I want to live in. Currently the wealthiest 1% of Americans have a greater net worth than the bottom 90%. <br /><br />We are currently paying a lower tax rate than any time since 1950. Why are we having this discussion over and over? It is distracting us from improving as a Nation. <br /><br />I hate the waste and bureaucracy of big government. But we already are shifting more and more of first dollar health coverage to the working class and we are seeing a decline in preventive medicine as people struggle to keep up. Privatization of Medicare would create more under-insured elderly, at a time when they need health care the most.<br /><br />I would like to see the debate switch from privatization to how can we best use the resources we have to provide basic health care to everyone from taxes (yes the ugly "T" word). Medicare needs reform. The waste and fraud and perverse payments for "doing more" needs to change. Start with funding primary care to make it uber-attractive as a specialty.<br /><br />And while we are at it...let's take a good hard look at our military budget and start getting leaner there. I'm not talking about benefits for veterans or pay for soldiers. I'm talking about "privatization" of the military and the billions we are spending on outside contractors and fraud and abuse. <br /><br />I know I'm mixing up a lot of topics but until we start dealing with the elephants in the room, I don't want to hear about cutting education, health care, social security.Toni Brayer, MDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15258759363309666629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7323692122514281455.post-27506771563800155162011-06-15T05:07:24.385-04:002011-06-15T05:07:24.385-04:00@A. Baily Don't you think civil discourse is n...@A. Baily Don't you think civil discourse is necessary for solutions in a society? How will a society bent on absurdity and sarcasm accomplish anything at all during such crisis? Beyond a shadow of a doubt you know that far more than the under 30 demo voted for Obama which is what you meant by - support of hope and change - I suspect you also fully know that we are not under the leadership of a socialist party. What bearing does Bush's 2005 proposal as a means to prevent insolvency have on Obama?<br /><br />I don't know what the solution is. In retrospect I'm glad people did not lose up to 40% of invested SS along with the rest of their retirement. All I know is that the attitude reflected in your comment adds to the problem.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> I didn't think it was the worst idea, nor the best. In retrospect I'm relieved for my mother that SS was not privatized as she would have lost 30% of it along<br /> with the rest of the very soundly private investments she worked so hard for. I don't know, definitively, what the solution is. I do know that the attitude reflected in your comment adds to the problem.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7323692122514281455.post-88783003084800681052011-06-14T16:13:55.924-04:002011-06-14T16:13:55.924-04:00I hate to be so cavalier, but...
...I've paid...I hate to be so cavalier, but...<br /><br />...I've paid into The Government System for 40 year now, and I want my due when I hit 65. The under 30 demographic supported "Hope and Change". Well, I hope they have lots of change, because they'll going to have to work their fannies off to cover my entitlements. <br /><br />That's the problem with socialism: sooner or later you run out of other people's money.A. Baileynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7323692122514281455.post-16813426165681106392011-06-12T19:25:38.933-04:002011-06-12T19:25:38.933-04:00Have had to cut comment to 1/4 of original. Only X...Have had to cut comment to 1/4 of original. Only X Amount of characters allowed. Doctors/hospitals not only need to be able to say the word "sorry" to patients, I believe they must. When there is a "bad outcome" completely unrelated to error or negligence which is probably more the %90 of the time - doctors must be able to say "I'm sorry" without fear. Again going back to "the litigious person" they will file claims no matter what we say/do. Yet I propose that when the consequences of a bad outcome are very significant our response and attitude can prevent, in this case frivolous, claims. Moreover I truly believe that our response and attitude in cases where an error caused a bad outcome can also prevent claims from being filed - I even believe that some patients will seek no compensation at all for errors in this case. Obviously I'm not talking about gross and unacceptable errors. I refer to cases where despite our best intention we commit an error the consequences of which can be very significant. <br /><br />Regardless of our backgrounds, education, ethnicity, politics, and so on... there isn't a person in this world who can't relate to having made mistakes, or committed an error and lamented the outcome. What is preventing the medical profession from relating to and engaging in this fact as it pertains to litigation. Finally, and again, any opinions would be greatly appreciated.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com