Elizabeth Warren: Don’t Bother Me With the Facts
The Obama administration has promised that the Federal Reserve’s new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be independent from politics, a model of regulatory expertise grounded in sound data and economics. Naming Harvard Law Prof. Elizabeth Warren as de facto agency head undermines both goals.
By appointing another White House czar to avoid Senate confirmation, the administration politicized the powerful new bureaucracy from its birth. And by appointing an individual with a track record of using questionable research to advance policy ends, it has jeopardized the second goal as well.
Her latest gambit: Coauthoring a study claiming that 62% of all bankruptcies are the result of medical bills. The real number: less than 20%. See our previous post here.
Elizabeth Warren is a joke. Hard to believe she will be in charge of anything.
She did more than one bankruptcy study. They were all abominations.
She’s going to be an objective referee? what a joke.
Other studies of bankruptcy have found that consumer spending (on credit); and illness that inhibits work, are far bigger causes of bankruptcy than medical bills themselves. Even among people have large medical bills, the common theme seems to be people missing work and relying on credit cards to live on. Her co-authors advocate for a single-payer system. But such a system would do nothing to alleviate the actual cause of bankruptcy.
Devon,
That was very circular and agrees with Warren’s premise. I know, I went through this. Had cancer last year and could not work for a year. I had to liquidate my retirement, savings, some holdings and had to use credit in emergencies to keep up with my bills. I lost a large portion of what I had. If it was not for owning my home 100% who knows what could have happened.
Erik, you are missing the point. Warren’s coauthors are well know advocates of the Canadian system of national health insurance. Yet there are more bankruptcies in Canada than in the United States.
The study’s publicists wanted every one to think that these problems would go away if only we had the Canadian health care system. But of course they wouldn’t go away. And considering the delays for care in Canada, they might even get worse.
Warren has an article on the Wall Street Journal editorial page this morning, defending herself: http://bit.ly/d1H6lM
Tom,
The economics that I suffered through my illness will be, by default, experienced by anyone in my same position weather they live in Canada or the US.
It has become painfully obvious that the main reason health care reform is becoming an issue is because doctors are standing in the way. They do not want to contribute to this issue. They are simply saying I won’t play under these new rules. The days of doctors with a God Complex are coming to an end.
It is time for doctors to pull on those boot straps real tight and get in the game and stop attempting to manipulate the medical marketplace.
By the way, my PCP missed my cancer even though it was Stage III and I had a physically observable tumor in my throat. I had to have multiple office visits before I had to demand to see an ENT who did catch my cancer by removing my tonsils. It seemed to me that my PCP only wanted my co-pays.
That is manipulating the medical marketplace and not appropriate care. I changed doctors after 20 years.
Erik,
Glad to hear that you made it through.
Out of curiosity, why did you have to “demand” to see and ENT? Were you in a gatekeeper managed care plan?
Second Linda’s query. Why couldn’t you see any physician you wanted to see whenever you wanted to see them.
Erik Ramirez says: “[I had] cancer last year and could not work for a year. I had to liquidate my retirement, savings, some holdings and had to use credit in emergencies to keep up with my bills. I lost a large portion of what I had. If it was not for owning my home 100% who knows what could have happened.” … and … Tom H. says in response: “Erik, you are missing the point. Warren’s coauthors are well know advocates of the Canadian system of national health insurance. Yet there are more bankruptcies in Canada than in the United States. The study’s publicists wanted every one to think that these problems would go away if only we had the Canadian health care system. But of course they wouldn’t go away. And considering the delays for care in Canada, they might even get worse.”
Well, Erik, Tom may think that you missed some “point”, but he must be missing multiple points. All other high-income free-market countries have health care for all. And no citizen has a major medical bill in those free-market countries. And, therefore, they do not have medically-caused bankruptcies.
No major medical bills:
http://mforall.org/p/966
Testimonials of Americans living and working in other free-market countries who have experienced this reality of no major medical bills:
http://mforall.org/p/966#testimonials
Comparisons of medically-caused bankruptcies in U.S. compared with six other free-market countries:
http://mforall.org/p/173#barchart
Tom implies by his reference to “delays for care” that there is a problem(s) in Canada. It’s hard to compete with the U.S. in having delays in care. Ask the third of our country’s population that is either uninsured or underinsured. Now THAT is an extreme delay in care … no care at all.
Canadians overwhelmingly like their health care.
http://mforall.org/p/944
Americans are in a country where there is …
a much higher likelihood of DEATH due to preventable causes …
http://mforall.org/p/1008#barchart
and a relatively LOW life expectancy when compared to other free-market countries.
http://mforall.org/p/762#compared
Best of all: the peace of mind of having the ability to freely make health care decisions and life choices without unnecessary financial, physical and emotional stress.
http://mforall.org/p/720
Erik, you might have had a “feel” that it’s the United States that has serious problems. The facts of information, testimonials and data in the above web pages supports that you can feel comfortable that it IS definitely the United States that has serious problems.
Bob the Health and Health Care Advocate
Linda Gorman says: “Erik, Glad to hear that you made it through. Out of curiosity, why did you have to “demand” to see and ENT? Were you in a gatekeeper managed care plan?” and Key says: “Second Linda’s query. Why couldn’t you see any physician you wanted to see whenever you wanted to see them.”
Holy cow, Linda and Ken! Astonishing. It’s the other free-market countries where you can see any physician you want to see.
Here are testimonials of Americans in other free-market countries who know what it’s like …
http://www.mforall.org/p/742#other
… plus … testimonials of eleven Canadians who very clearly express the comfort / peace-of-mind of being in another free-market country where such freedoms and abilities DO exist.
http://mforall.org/p/995
Bob the Health and Health Care Advocate