[PRCo] Re: Gas Prices

[Richard Allman]

Shucks, Ed-I had hoped to stir things up a bit! Happy New Year! RICH
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Edward H. Lybarger" <trams2 at comcast.net>
To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
Sent: Wednesday, December 31, 2008 10:55 AM
Subject: [PRCo] Re: Gas Prices


> Me, too, Rich.  You haven't said anything so far that I disagree with.
>
> Ed
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
> [mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org] On Behalf Of John
> Swindler
> Sent: Wednesday, December 31, 2008 8:51 AM
> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Gas Prices
>
>
>
> Thank you, Rich.  Very much enjoyed your "insiders" viewpoint.  If you 
> care
> to lay out a solution for our health care mess, may I request being put on
> the distribution list??
>
> Cheers
> John
>
>
>
>
>> Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2008 18:00:22 -0500> From: allmanr at verizon.net> 
>> Subject:
> [PRCo] Re: Gas Prices> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org> > anyone who
> wants to know what I think is needed to fix our health care mess, > 
> contact
> me off this site and I'll lay it out. You might be surprised re: my > view
> and if you are a Red State mentality you probably won't like it. > Suffice
> it to say, that a "system" which consumes more than 15% of GNP, > leaves 
> 47
> million people without any coverage and another almost 50 million >
> underinsured has problems. Add to that the impact on American industrial >
> competiveness because of health care expenditures(GM's biggest supplier is 
>  >
> no long USX or it's successors, it is Blue Cross of SE Michigan.) Then 
> look
>> at the disparities in care-back operations per captia much higher in New 
>>  >
> Haven than Boston w/ similar populations and severity adjusted disease >
> incidence. Then look at some outcomes-third world type incidence of infant 
>  >
> mortality and!
>  thoroughly undrwhelming life expectacny vs. other > industrialized
> nations. Other nations have found a way to cover all of their > citizens,
> with better outcomes, for far less cost. Then the fragmentation of >
> care-ping ponging from one specialist to another with a shortage of 
> primary
>> care physicians due to pathetic reimbursement and a system that rewards >
> technical procedures, but nothing for those who follow patients and at the 
>  >
> right time decide that the procedure is timely. The situation is like 
> this-a
>> woman who is the wife of a retured dentist living on the Main Line >
> approached me after church a few months ago and told me she was unable to 
>  >
> find a primary care physician who is accepting new patients. Similar 
> stories
>> are reported in Metropolitan Boston, home of some of the world's best >
> hospitals. Medical students graduate with like $200,000 in student loan 
> debt
>> and are pushed into high paying specialties, irrespective of societal
> needs. > And believe me,!
>  society is invested: the huge tuitions cover only a fraction > of med 
> ical
> education and the rest is subsidized; students get to learn on > patients
> doing examinations well before they are fully qualifed. Therefore, > 
> medical
> knowledge and skills are in no way the property of physicians-they > are a
> public trust. It's eay to beat on the VA system, and it has had a too > 
> long
> history of problems, but by any pbjective measure, the quality of care >
> there in the past decade has probably improved more than in any other >
> system. It's easy to rail against Medicare, but look back to before there 
>  >
> was that program, and firther, Medicare has the lowest percentage of >
> expenditure for overhead of any system in the US. Sorry to rant for so 
> long.
>> You got me started, Fred!Happy New Year , all!> > RICH> Richard L. 
>> Allman,
> MD> President, Medical Staff, Albert Einstein Medical Center> Medical
> Ethicist> Medical Revolutionary -in-Waiting> PTM Member> > ----- Original
> Message ----- > From: "Schneider Fred" <fwschneider at comcast.net>> To:
> <pittsburgh-railways@!
> dementia.org>> Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2008 9:14 AM> Subject: [PRCo]
> Re: Gas Prices> > > > And, whether we wish to recognize it or not, with 
> the
> welfare medical> > cards for those of insufficient means to afford medical
> care> > otherwise, we are somewhere in the middle. We simply have refused> 
>  >
> to acknowledge it. There are several of us on this list who have> >
> relatives who participate by choice. Will someone explain to me> > what 
> the
> difference is? Yes, the difference lies in the middle> > between those who
> have employer paid benefits or abundant cash and> > those who have nothing
> or choose to have nothing ... those who> > struggle and get no where may
> have nothing. However, the doctors> > can still not turn them down.> >> > 
> It
> is the doctor who gets screwed. One of the many I have collected> > as I
> aged told me several years ago, "I have not raised my rates in> > five 
> years
> because it won't do any good. The insurance companies> > and medicare tell
> me what they are g!
> oing to pay me anyway." What he> > left unsaid was that he didn't have 
> the
> heart to charge those with no> > money. Unfortunately, what happens is 
> that
> the minutes the doctor> > can allocate to each patient becomes reduced 
> each
> year and the> > patient is forced, in some ways, to control his own 
> medicine
> and to> > make sure he asks the right questions. There is a medical> >
> practitioner on this list who I personally know wrote off a> > substantial
> amount of money when he went from private practice to> > hospital practice
> some years ago. My father-in-law wrote of> > hundreds of thousands of
> dollars in his life time as a surgeon.> > Sadly the image is a man driving
> around in a big car; they are not> > all like that.> >> > On Dec 30, 2008,
> at 8:54 AM, Edward H. Lybarger wrote:> >> >> If you remove the profit
> motive, you remove the incentive for any> >> kind of> >> quality or 
> service.
> But you also get in trouble when there is> >> unlimited> >> profit motive,
> because in the hubris, the recognized need for those> >> qualities gets
> lost.> >>> >> As wit!
> h everything else, the best position is somewhere in the middle.> >>> >>
> Ed> >>> >> -----Original Message-----> >> From:
> pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org> >>
> [mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org] On Behalf Of> >>
> John> >> Swindler> >> Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2008 8:37 AM> >> To:
> pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org> >> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Gas Prices> >>> 
>  >>>
>>>> >> We already have an example of socialized medicine in this country.>
>>> It's> >> called the Veteran's Administration.> >>> >> I've heard some
> good stories about the VA, particularly the one in> >> Lebanon,> >> but 
> also
> too many horror stories. Also, there were three incidents> >> over> >> 
> past
> 12-15 months of patients being ignored in emergency rooms to> >> die. All>
>>> three happened in government run facilities. I'd rather be able to> >>
> schedule> >> an appointment at Lancaster General instead of being put on a
> VA> >> waiting> >> list.> >>> >> John> >>> >>> >>> >>> Date: Mon, 29 Dec!
>  2008 14:50:18 -0800> From: pcc_sr at yahoo.com>> >>> Subject:> >> [PRCo]
> Re: Gas Prices> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org> > > -----> >>
> Original Message ----> > > From: John Swindler> >> 
> <j_swindler at hotmail.com>>
>> >> >>>>> My wife went on a mission trip to Novosibirsk several> > years
> ago,> >> and at a get-together showed a picture of our > > house. The> >>
> 'locals' wanted> >> to know on which floor was> > our apartment located. 
> She
> felt> >> embarrassed> >> telling them> > that we lived in the entire 
> house.
> And our > > square> >> footage is smaller then the average.> > When living
> in San> >> Francisco in the> >> 1980s I attended a> church which had a big
> missionary project to> >> Russia> as> >> well as Russian immigrants here.
> Mention a trip> to the super> >> market and> >> they begged to go along.
> They> were constantly astonished at the> >> variety we> >> have here.> > 
> The
> battle cry of protesters coming out of the hippy> >> era> was> >> 'food 
> for
> people not for profit.' Remove the profit> incentive and> >> there> >> 
> goes
> our variety does!
> n!> >> 't it. That's why> I give pause to 'socialized' medicine. As I> >>
> mentioned> >> before> we seem to have much better health care in some
> respects> than> >> Britain. But 'if' we go socialized method I shall>
> probably be> >> pushing up> >> the daisies by then.> > > Phil> > > > > >> 
>  >>
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