Adding 30 billion or so to expand SCHIP is a done deal. Now the question is whether there will be any accountability to the families who enroll in the program.
I am not even talking about health outcomes. I am talking about the care actually being there.
As Woody Allen once said: "80 percent of success is showing up." So therefore:
How long will families have to wait to see a doctor for both a sick or well check up?
How long will they have to wait to get referred to a specialist or receive authorization for a procedure or medicine?
Studies show that over time increases in SCHIP enrollment have done nothing to reduce the use of emergency rooms as a routine source of care. Has anyone ever care to ask or find out why? We know that "high ED use in some communities also likely reflects generic preferences for EDs as a source of care for nonurgent problems..." but shouldn't SCHIP be organized in ways to reward less expensive but equally effective sources of care? For further details. see here.
This is not a matter of public vs. private as much it is as trying to make sure the health coverage some how translates into better health. Without a sustained effort the promotes competition based on price, quality and convenience, SCHIP will degenerate into Medicaid for the middle class.
I am not even talking about health outcomes. I am talking about the care actually being there.
As Woody Allen once said: "80 percent of success is showing up." So therefore:
How long will families have to wait to see a doctor for both a sick or well check up?
How long will they have to wait to get referred to a specialist or receive authorization for a procedure or medicine?
Studies show that over time increases in SCHIP enrollment have done nothing to reduce the use of emergency rooms as a routine source of care. Has anyone ever care to ask or find out why? We know that "high ED use in some communities also likely reflects generic preferences for EDs as a source of care for nonurgent problems..." but shouldn't SCHIP be organized in ways to reward less expensive but equally effective sources of care? For further details. see here.
This is not a matter of public vs. private as much it is as trying to make sure the health coverage some how translates into better health. Without a sustained effort the promotes competition based on price, quality and convenience, SCHIP will degenerate into Medicaid for the middle class.
