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Excerpts from Feb 09 article. by Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D., Nina Owcharenko and Dennis G. Smith
The President's $634 billion "down payment" on health care reform in his proposed budget depends on raising taxes and saving money largely through administrative payment changes in existing entitlement programs. That is not exactly fundamental reform.
Little Patient Empowerment
President Obama's health care budget proposal is large but surprisingly unimaginative. It depends on old-fashioned, populist, "soak the rich" tax hikes combined with technocratic tinkering with administrative payment and new software in anticipation of program savings.
It does very little to change America's flawed public and private third-party payment arrangements, where value is secured for "payers," not individual patients.
If the President wants to affect real change—and secure value for individual patients rather than third party payers—he should take concrete steps to transfer direct control over health care dollars and decisions to individuals and families.