Obama's Health Care Plan Just Expands Status Quo

Washington Post by Robert J. Samuelson | Aug. 10, 2009 (Opinion)

"The status quo is unsustainable for families, businesses and government." -- President Obama, June 13

One of the bewildering ironies of the health-care debate is that President Obama claims to be attacking the status quo when he's actually embracing it. Ever since Congress created Medicare and Medicaid in 1965, health politics has followed a simple logic: Expand benefits and talk about controlling costs. That's the status quo, and Obama ... Full Story »

Posted by Fabrice Florin - via Dan Gillmor, Opinion Source

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Subjects: World, U.S., Politics, Health
Topics: Poverty, Obama Administration
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Posted by: Posted by Fabrice Florin - Aug 10, 2009 - 10:32 AM PDT
Reviewed by: Fabrice Florin (review)
Content Type: Article
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Edited by: Fabrice Florin - Aug 10, 2009 - 4:24 PM PDT
Related Comments: Obama Administration (3)

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Fabrice Florin
3.9
 by Fabrice Florin - Aug. 10, 2009

Thoughtful opinion piece about controlling health-care spending, rather than increasing it by expanding subsidized insurance. The author recommends a radical move away from "fee-for-service" medicine, toward "coordinated care networks that take responsibility for their members' medical needs in return for fixed annual payments." The author makes a reasonable case for this approach, called "capitation," and provides facts and context to support his point that Obama needs to take on this controversial challenge, rather than holding on to an unsustainable status quo.

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  • I Didn't Wake Up Planning to Write About Samuelson

    New Republic by Jonathan Cohn | Aug. 10, 2009 (Opinion)
    Samuelson may not think these reforms are aggressive enough--or that the plans emerging from Congress don't live up to these promises. Those are reasonable arguments; I might ...
    Posted by Derek Hawkins
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