Doctor Demento

Yesterday there was an amputation on the surgery schedule. According to our President the surgeon was going to pocket $40,000 for a one hour procedure. I asked him about that $40,0000 figure. In the real world the surgeon gets about $750 for the procedure. This includes a pre-op consultation, the surgery, and about seven follow up visits. The surgeon can't charge Medi-Care again for anything he does for the patient related to the original procedure for six months. The idea that doctors are mismanaging their diabetic patients poorly in collusion with greedy knife happy surgeons is worthy of the Area-51 late night radio crowd.

Our President is dumb; there, I said it. Health care problems will never be solved. There are too few dollars chasing too much technology. Rationing is going on now and will continue. The malpractice costs are a big contributor to lack of availability. Ten million illegal aliens are a drain on our system. Twenty million of the uninsured are uninsured by choice. Ten million are eligible for an existing program but can't get themselves motivated enough to apply. If they keep targeting the doctors there will be more rationing and shortages. In Canada towns have lotteries to see who gets to see the doctor this month. If the government pisses off the doctors they are going to work less, retire early, and not be available on weekends. Already the government mandate that Medical Schools graduate 50% woman has worsened the crisis. On average women physicians work 30% less hours a week and will spend 10 years less in practice over their career than male physicians. Now if you get a brain tumor and can't find a neurosurgeon what good will your new government insurance be? You can take that insurance card and hold it against your forehead and hope for a cure.

Captain Obvious says "you can't get blood from a turnip". He also says "you can't legislate away death and disease".