Hits & Misses – 2009/2/23
Diabetics can manage their own care. Online tools can substantially improve blood sugar control.
Electronic implant calms patients suffering from obsessive thoughts. But will it work on Paul Krugman?
Schools get $2.57 for each free lunch. Real cost = 20 cents.
Leftwing critique of the Massachusetts Health Plan. The status quo would have been better.
Let’s try it on Krugman and see if it works? What’s the risk?
On diabetics, you have been saying this for some time. This is why they need Health Savings Accounts. If they are going to manage their care they need to manage the dollars that pay for that care.
The article on school lunches was a real eye opener. The government isn’t subsidizing lunches. It is subsidizing schools.
The comments under “Leftwing Critique” were more interesting than the article. I’d always wondered about the usual single-payer non sequitur, which goes something like “We need x, y, and z, therefore single-payer.” The laundry list usually contains items where (a) it is questionable whether single-payer would address the item, or (b) if it does, whether single-payer is the sole unique way to achieve the item, or (c) whether single-payer is even the best way to achieve it.
The comments hint that the real motivation for single-payer is that (a) universal is to be taken literally, without exception, and (b) free or subsidized health care must not be identifiable as such, i.e. as a form of welfare.