I saw 60 minutes this evening where Leslie Stahl interviewed Steven Brill of the New York Times. Apparently he has written a new book about how the medical "industry" is now making huge profits from Obamacare --even "non profit" hospital businesses are "profiting" by paying their executives extremely high salaries, which, in turn drives up the costs.
Here is a link to the book review.
‘America’s Bitter Pill,’ by Steven Brill - NYTimes.com
After seeing this 60 minutes piece and reading the book review, I also read the book. On the surface, the book is simply a chronological description of the development, passing and implementation of the Affordable Care Act. It doesn't sound too exciting? It describes step-by-step who was involved in the development and writing of the law, how it got modified in order to pass, and then how the implementation of the law unfolded, including the development of the healthcare.gov website. However, I did find it somewhat exciting even though I knew what happened. Brill was able to make the story interesting by providing some personal information about each of the major players, so we understood better about the motivations behind each individuals position or role.
I think it is a shame that all of our US Congress and Senators didn't pull together to help develop the Affordable Care Act in a cooperative spirit. Yes, it is possible that there are flaws in the law. It may have been better if all sides worked to make necessary corrections. After the act was passed, and problems were identified, it would have been good to have congress pass minor changes to the act to make those necessary corrections. As it is, hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of hours have been spent fighting against the act and wasting lawyers and judges time on somewhat trivial problems or flaws in the wording.
I don't understand who is against the act, or who is behind the vehement effort the Republicans have mounted to fight against the law. I can't see how any businesses involved in the health care industry would be against it. They are ALL making lots of money, as are the CEOs. Hospitals, insurance companies, doctors, pharmaceuticals, medical device manufacturers are all making seemingly windfall profits from the law. States are getting assistance from the Federal Government to improve the health of all of their citizens. More of our citizens are now contributing to their own health care by paying for their insurance. Because more people have insurance, more Americans are able to obtain preventative health care which should eventually reduce the overall cost. What is not to like? I have tried to read and listen to the complaints issued by the Republican Party as they have continually tried to stop or repeal the Affordable Care Act with many different parliamentary and legal procedures. They all say it is bad --but they never have been able to explain why and even when they have presented alternative approaches, it is clear that the alternatives have not been thought through.
Here is a link to the book review.
‘America’s Bitter Pill,’ by Steven Brill - NYTimes.com
After seeing this 60 minutes piece and reading the book review, I also read the book. On the surface, the book is simply a chronological description of the development, passing and implementation of the Affordable Care Act. It doesn't sound too exciting? It describes step-by-step who was involved in the development and writing of the law, how it got modified in order to pass, and then how the implementation of the law unfolded, including the development of the healthcare.gov website. However, I did find it somewhat exciting even though I knew what happened. Brill was able to make the story interesting by providing some personal information about each of the major players, so we understood better about the motivations behind each individuals position or role.
I think it is a shame that all of our US Congress and Senators didn't pull together to help develop the Affordable Care Act in a cooperative spirit. Yes, it is possible that there are flaws in the law. It may have been better if all sides worked to make necessary corrections. After the act was passed, and problems were identified, it would have been good to have congress pass minor changes to the act to make those necessary corrections. As it is, hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of hours have been spent fighting against the act and wasting lawyers and judges time on somewhat trivial problems or flaws in the wording.
I don't understand who is against the act, or who is behind the vehement effort the Republicans have mounted to fight against the law. I can't see how any businesses involved in the health care industry would be against it. They are ALL making lots of money, as are the CEOs. Hospitals, insurance companies, doctors, pharmaceuticals, medical device manufacturers are all making seemingly windfall profits from the law. States are getting assistance from the Federal Government to improve the health of all of their citizens. More of our citizens are now contributing to their own health care by paying for their insurance. Because more people have insurance, more Americans are able to obtain preventative health care which should eventually reduce the overall cost. What is not to like? I have tried to read and listen to the complaints issued by the Republican Party as they have continually tried to stop or repeal the Affordable Care Act with many different parliamentary and legal procedures. They all say it is bad --but they never have been able to explain why and even when they have presented alternative approaches, it is clear that the alternatives have not been thought through.
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