Discussions

What’s on your mind? Share it. Whether it’s an idea, an opinion or an experience that you’ve had with health care. You pick the topic. We’re all here because we want to make medicine better.

Start A New Discussion

Comment By: Tiffany Sewell meta_seperate Date & Time: September 30, 2009 at 1:16 pm

Eric – when you say, "Health care should step up and fix itself," who do you mean by "health care?" Should the doctors fix it? The hospitals? Just the non-profit hospitals? Insurance companies? Patients? All of these (and many others, including government) can fall under the under the umbrella of "health care"

With so many stakeholders, it's important that someone take the lead in initiating changes, maintaining momentum and assuring accountability. Because government is the only stakeholder with the power to influence the others on a large scale, it makes sense (at least to me) that they take the lead in reform. The other stakeholders have to buy in – nothing will get fixed if hospitals, insurance companies, etc. don't do their fair share – but someone has to start the ball rolling.

Comment By: Andrew Knef meta_seperate Date & Time: October 1, 2009 at 9:04 am

I agree that government will play an important role in health care reform. They already do with Medicare and Medicaid. The real question in the current political context is will a government option insurance plan lead to more competition with private insurers or a takeover of the insurance business that leads to a single payer system. The polling I've seen says Americans are very skeptical about health-care delivery systems like that of Great Britain or even Canada. Those systems inevitably ration care to control costs. My preference would be to extend health insurance through the government to the people who really can't afford it. Reform private insurance to make it more competitive and more affordable for everyone else. Do something about pre-existing conditions and Tort reform and you have the makings of a deal most Americans can support.