I posted last week and Steve followed up here with things we could learn from “The Keystone Cops sells autos,” also known as CARS. Today, another painful lesson is being learned in the CARS fiasco that can be directly applied to the health care take over.
CARS started July 25th, by last Friday it had been essentially halted. The CARS program ran an entire 7 days. Since last Friday government bureaucrats have been pontificating, arguing, pointing fingers, chest puffing and all the other things that bureaucrats do. Bureaucrats have been doing everything except fixing the program. The bureaucrats have now spent 50% as much time as the program actually ran debating whether the program should continue, in what form, how to fund it etc. In the meantime, automobile dealers and potential purchasers are wondering when, if and how they may be able to get their deal done.
Roll forward five years. Obama national health has been passed and we are in the second full year of its implementation. Eighteen months into the full implementation of Obama care it becomes apparent that the budget Congress has allotted for Obama care is inadequate. Let’s say that the amount needed to fund the program is double the original estimate (like what happened to Massachusetts Care) which means Congress needs to debate additional funding.
Because the “solution” to the funding problem is not obvious on the horizon hospitals, doctors and other health care providers don’t know what will happen to their payments and reimbursements. Because they don’t know how they will be paid they start slowing work or delaying admissions, a perfectly logical response and one which Medicaid patients have lots of experiences with to say that it does happen.
Finally, imagine you have a surgery scheduled. Oh, it’s not life threatening. You don’t have cancer, your heart isn’t about to stop. No, it’s not life threatening, it’s just a kidney stone that needs to be removed. How many days will you be willing to wait while Congress debates how they will pay your doctor to do your removal?
None? Yeah, me neither. That’s one more reason I like to have say in my health care.
