Thursday Links

Posted on by John C. Goodman

The AMA’s Advancing Health Equity guide is a joke. But after the laughter dies, it is also very sad.

British Columbia to send thousands of Canadian cancer patients to Washington state for treatment.

Paragon: Medicare’s venture into “value based care” has done little except add administrative burden and a set of quality metrics that are easily gamed and don’t translate into better or more efficient care.

Trump’s executive order allowing employers to fund individually owned health insurance is taking hold.

4 thoughts on “Thursday Links”

  1. Somehow, the British Columbia situation reminds me of this old story.

    Two friends meet for lunch at a restaurant. After their meal, one said “The food here is really bad.” The other friend answered “Yes it is – and the portions are so small”

    B.C. cannot meet its resident’s demand for cancer care. But – it’s free.

    Reply

  2. I have studied the Canadian health care system fairly extensively. The main problem is not they are single-payer….the problem is that they are fiscally conservative single payer.

    Gearing up to fight cancer is hugely expensive — from oncologists to radiologists to technicians to imaging machines to new drugs.

    Canadian voters have supported balanced budgets and few new taxes. There just is not the money to solve the problem.

    Reply

    1. “the problem is that they are fiscally conservative single payer.”

      Well, Bob I agree the interference of government in the delivery and financing of medical care in Canada is a problem.

      But it’s not “the problem”.

  3. John, thanks for your comments as always. Your inference here is that without government interference, the private sector would create a flourishing market for cancer care.

    Maybe yes, maybe not.

    Here in the USA, would we have so much investment in cancer care if the providers were not sure that Medicare would cover more or less anything and pay more or less whatever prices were charged? This is true for drugs, imaging, et al.

    Most aspects of cancer care get paid in Medicare Parts B and D. These benefits have no dedicated taxes, and they are a huge contributor to our annual budget deficits.

    And this may be all right. But it backs up my point that a generous public sector is a key part of cancer care.

    Reply

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