Well, today is the day. President Obama formally begins his effort to expand healthcare coverage to the masses of uninsured in this country, with the kickoff of his WH healthcare summit. (I hear that Hillary Clinton is not invited.) But for all of his promised rhetoric on the swift “overhaul” of the funding for healthcare delivery, everyone desirous of healthcare for all must remember that those subsidies initially have to come from somewhere.
As the recession puts a bigger strain on consumers’ wallets, many underinsured Americans either can’t or won’t pay the high deductibles and co-pays for treatment they receive in hospitals and emergency rooms. By one estimate, 25 million Americans can’t afford to cover the gap between what their insurance covers and their medical bills demand. The issue shows the steep challenge faced by President Obama and other Washington leaders vowing to put the health care system on a course for long-term fiscal viability.
Obama will have to learn rather quickly that the healthcare economy is like no other in this country. The economic basics of supply and demand don’t readily apply to the U.S. healthcare system. The summit, which will bring voices from all over the healthcare policy spectrum, will have to conclude with a plan to which Obama can continue to refer and update the American public on his progress surrounding this issue. | LINK
Related Posts Within Doctor Pundit:
Originating from Saint Paul, Minnesota, [doctorpundit.com] is a weblog about the policy of healthcare and where it intersects with politics and public opinion; it is edited by Michael Douglas, MD, MBA. Welcome, and please consider my take on what is Healthcare 2.0, complemented by a few of my thoughts on my personal avocations and guilty pleasures: music, prose, and writing. Follow Doctor Pundit via RSS above.
North, GA #hospital job for Physical Therapist #jobs on 2/7 - @careerbarn Details http://t.co/wORGjzp9
RT @RichmondDoc: In the absence of #MDChat, should you be interested: @NPALive is covering a health policy conference call with Dr. Ezekiel Emmanuel.
Grant Will Aid Hunterdon Medical Center for Community Needs Program http://t.co/FliewVHM #hitc #hcsm
RT @HealthIsSocial: RT @farristimimi: Psychologists Debate Social Media's Role in Suicide Interventions
http://t.co/tG2eFCkv #hcsm #mhsm #mentalhealth #hcsmca
RT @pjmachado Just ask what they want... RT @dsgold Consumers aren't too keen on personalized search results http://t.co/JZT0Whxr #hcsm
DOCTOR PUNDIT @ ONE YEAR | An occasional DP series from 2010 highlighting healthcare policy trends over the period from 2009-2010 in a compare/contrast format.
