Amidst all the talk about signing up for mandatory insurance (or failing to do so) through healthcare.gov, we have probably lost sight of what is really going on. I suspect that you, like a majority of Americans, think you buy health insurance so it will pay for your health care services and products. If so, I regret toContinue reading “Healthcare and the Insurance Principle”
Author Archives: deanewaldman1
Restore American Health Care by Reconnecting Patient with Physician
The U.S. healthcare system is failing both the American public as well as Americans doctors. Fundamental change is needed but Washington keeps adjusting the financing and never deals with the root cause-breakdown of the doctor-patient relationship. Failing both patients and physicians In 2018, the average American family spent $28,166 on healthcare costs. More than 80 percent went to insuranceContinue reading “Restore American Health Care by Reconnecting Patient with Physician”
Will Americans in 2020 Repudiate 1776?
Before the Revolutionary War, residents of the North American colonies were subjects of the British crown. They were entitled to as much or as little as the aristocracy allowed. Their living conditions and daily activities were dictated by the government. They paid whatever taxes were arbitrarily imposed by the crown. In 1776, the founding fathersContinue reading “Will Americans in 2020 Repudiate 1776?”
Thinking Systems Need Systems Thnking
After describing machine and complex adaptive systems, we define a thinking system with two unique, defining characteristics: having goal(s) separate from survival and the capability to innovate purposefully. Thinking systems always learn and are the only systems that can structure their own learning. Healthcare is a paradigm of a thinking system and is repeatedly plaguedContinue reading “Thinking Systems Need Systems Thnking”
Instead of the House healthcare bill, replace federal healthcare laws by letting the states decide what to do
Obamacare. The American Health Care Act. The Emergency Medical Transport and Labor Act. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Health Insurance Marketplaces (now called exchanges.) The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act. Medicare. Patient-centric healthcare. The Unfunded Mandate Reform Act. These are some of the ways that Washington has “fixed” our healthcare system. Other than failure, theyContinue reading “Instead of the House healthcare bill, replace federal healthcare laws by letting the states decide what to do”
Magical Thinkers in Washington
Predictions of cost savings through ObamaCare, like most liberal politics, were based on magical thinking. If they want something to be true with sufficiently intensity, liberals know it must be true. Small children are natural magical thinkers. Ask any psychologist, pediatrician, or parent. Magical thinkers believe that because they want it or can conceive ofContinue reading “Magical Thinkers in Washington”
Great Britain Offers Cautionary Tale on Single Payer
First Charlie Gard and now Alfie Evans. These are babies who, though verbally silent, still gave clarion warnings to proponents of single-payer health care: The government — not my parents — is in charge of my life, and the government chose death. Charlie Gard was born in August 2015 with a rare genetic disorder thatContinue reading “Great Britain Offers Cautionary Tale on Single Payer”
California wants single payer and Texas wants free market – say hello to ‘StatesCare’
California may try to create a statewide single payer healthcare system. Bernie Sanders still wants single payer Medicare-for-All for Vermont despite its demise aborning in 2014. Texas wants a free market system. Washington desperately seeks a way out of their healthcare dilemma, especially the imploding Medicaid program. Believe it or not, there is a wayContinue reading “California wants single payer and Texas wants free market – say hello to ‘StatesCare’”
More coverage doesn’t necessarily translate into better patient care
Everyone believes that the purpose of a healthcare system is to get the right care on time to the most people, and everyone is right. Where common wisdom goes astray is the presumption that coverage equals care. Most people think that having health insurance guarantees getting healthcare, i.e., 1. Those who have coverage will getContinue reading “More coverage doesn’t necessarily translate into better patient care”
Health care is not a federal responsibility | Choose Your Healthcare
There are a host of good reasons to “repeal” the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare). “Replace” is an entirely different matter. Start with its negative effects on individuals and on our country. Americans are experiencing skyrocketing health insurance costs—premiums, co-pays, and deductibles—which is the opposite of what the law’s name promised: affordable. The ACA is wastingContinue reading “Health care is not a federal responsibility | Choose Your Healthcare”
Health Care- Your Way 