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Category: AllBoston Globe Likes Mass. Plan, but Reports Patients Waiting 100 Days to See DoctorSeptember 22, 2008
by Amy MenefeeReading the Boston Globe two days in a row can be educational. A September 21 Globe editorial attacked Republican Sen. John McCain on health care but had kind words for Democratic Sen. Barack Obama’s health plan, likening it to the Massachusetts plan.
It concluded: “The Massachusetts experiment will test whether better access to healthcare does pay off in improved prevention and lower costs.” Yet in the same paper the next day, the early effects were documented. “The wait to see primary care doctors in Massachusetts has grown to as long as 100 days, while the number of practices accepting new patients has dipped in the past four years, with care the scarcest in some rural areas,” reported the Globe’s Liz Kowalczyk September 22. Though the Globe’s editorialist wanted to see the effects of Massachusetts’ mandate on prevention and costs, unfortunately, the reality shows an insurance mandate isn’t solving the state’s problems. On the contrary – the statewide insurance mandate has only intensified existing problems, like the shortage of primary care doctors. And such shortages exist across the country. As the Globe reported, “According to a survey published this month in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 2 percent of students graduating from medical school plan to practice primary care.” Nursing is also plagued by continual shortages, as Stateline.org reported September 22. The health sector has real problems, and the unfortunate lesson from Massachusetts is that mandating insurance coverage isn’t the way to solve them. CommentsLaurence at 09/22/2008 19:22:50The thing to remember is that having health insurance is not the same as medical treatment. Canada lowers it costs by limiting its medical resources, accepting long waiting periods at each level of care: before seeing a primary physician, before seeing a specialist, and then before starting prescribed specialized treatment. It also ships excess patients to the US for treatment. Things will get better when we start aborting unwanted and inconvenient senior citizens. It's the patriotic thing to do! Add Comment |
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Dr. D at 10/05/2008 22:59:15
The plans are all about RATIONING, only don't use the R word. Limiting access, limiting treatments, prolonging waits. Don't expect a national version of these plans ala Obamacare to be any different.