Latest Drugwonks' Blog

Rosner's Domain: The why-Haiti-but-not-Gaza nonsense

Posted by SHMUEL ROSNER

While Israel is making an effort to save life in Haiti, the never-happy-with-Israel crowd is trying this new line of over-sophisticated counter-intuitive argument: Haiti is easy, but what about Gaza. 

Here's Derfner saying: "the Haiti side of Israel that makes the Gaza side so inexpressibly tragic. And more and more, the Haiti part of the national character has been dwarfed by the Gaza part". Here's the Electronic Intifada criticizing the media for its positive spin of this humanitarian effort: "A few media outlets have pointed out the discrepancies in Zionist self-congratulation". And the estimable NYT showing very little understanding of Israel's true feelings by claiming that "Israelis have been watching with a range of emotions, as if the Haitian relief effort were a Rorschach test through which the nation examines itself. The left has complained that there is no reason to travel thousands of miles to help those in need - Gaza is an hour away".

"Range of emotions" meaning what? that 99% support the effort and 1% complaining about Gaza? That 99% feel proud about this humanitarian effort and 1% feel the need to politicize even the simplest act of compassion and demonstrate, yet again, that they've lost their collective minds?

Anyway. Since this the why-Haiti-but-not-Gaza nonsense is gaining traction, maybe some reminders are necessary. Here we go:

1. Because Haitians never bombed Israeli towns.

2. Because the government of Haiti never declared that it wanted Israel to be eliminated.

3. Because no Haitian suicide bomber was caught trying to reach an Israel bus stop of cafe.

4. Because while Gazans' suffering should not be belittled, I don't remember any report claiming that 100,000 Gazans are dead because of Israeli blockade. Not even the Goldstone report.

5. Because it's easier sending rescue workers and doctors in uniform into a place in which Israelis in uniform are well received.

6. Because no Israeli soldier is being kept hostage in Haiti, and there's no standing Haitian demand for the release of hundreds of terrorists from Israeli jails.

7. Because Haiti had no way of stopping the earth-quake and the government of Gaza can easily make life better for its people by changing course.

If you're smarter than a fifth grader, I'm sure you can add many more such points. If you're smarter than a fifth grader you know that sometimes being too-smart is being stupid.

Cadillac Junkyard

  • 01.27.2010
With the AFL-CIO opposing passage of the Senate health bill on account of the “Cadillac tax” and House members increasingly skittish in the wake of Scott Brown’s victory in Massachusetts, it appears unlikely the House of Representatives will pass the bill.
 
That said, it’s worth exploring the motivation behind the so-called Cadillac tax, which is one of the main obstacles to the health bill’s passage in the House.
 
Rep. Jerrold Nadler acknowledged the obvious absurdity of this Cadillac tax concept a couple weeks prior to the deal struck with Big Labor. Nadler said “The fact that premiums are higher does not mean that benefits are better.”
 
Duh.
 
Something far more sinister is at work here.
 
Patricia Murphy at Politics Daily nails it in just two paragraphs:

Despite the politically powerful unions that oppose it, the tax is enormously attractive to government economists because it both raises revenue -- $149 billion over 10 years -- and should depress the rate of health care inflation by discouraging companies from offering more generous health plans. The Joint Committee on Taxation and the CBO credit the tax as the largest factor in "bending the cost curve" and cutting the federal deficit, as Senate Democrats say the bill will do.

Christina Romer, a senior economic adviser to the president, predicted in October that the tax would encourage "both employers and employees to be more watchful health care consumers." But research released last week by Mercer, an employee benefits consulting firm, showed that in addition to considering lower-cost plans, two-thirds of companies polled said they would also raise health care costs for workers through higher co-pays and deductibles, regardless of whether the employee is a CEO or a line worker at a factory.

This is odd as we have been told to the point of exhaustion that insurance companies are shamelessly denying people health care as a matter of course all in the name of profit.

But that’s the dirty little secret – these so-called health reformers believe Americans consume far too much medical care. Of course they won’t come right out and say that for political reasons. Instead, they simply rail against insurance companies, the drug companies, and whatever other bogeymen they have created to pollute this debate.
 
This tax on “Cadillac” plans would create the groundwork for a situation whereby we all end up paying substantially more for health care but get appreciably less in services than that which we are accustomed.

It’s eerily similar to the Japanese health model. Insurance companies are heavily regulated. The Japanese pay unusually high co-pays, a large chunk of their insurance premiums (employers picking up the rest) and out-of-pocket health expenses for services not covered by the modest insurance plans.

This works to ensure more equality of medical treatment – but it’s sub-par treatment.

In this blog last year, I cited this 2007 Wall Street Journal excerpt:

While Japanese patients want American-style treatment, their policymakers are alarmed. With a huge national debt and corporations worried about higher taxes, they say Japan can't afford to pour money into treatments that can't extend life span by very much.

"America did too much of this and that's why their medical costs have grown," said Masaharu Nakajima, a surgeon and former director of the Health Bureau at the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Since
Japan enacted universal health insurance in the early 1960s, the emphasis has been on a minimum standard of care for all. People must pay a monthly health-insurance fee, and large companies pay also. Coverage decisions, doctors' pay, and other rules are set by the central government.

Japanese doctors complain that they have no time to spend with patients. The experience of seeing a doctor is summarized as "a three-hour wait for a three-minute visit."

“Minimum standard of care for all.” Those are the key words.
 
The commitment to "social justice" is driving this idea and not any commitment to sound health policy.
 
It’s hard to believe Americans in 2010 are prepared to give up their Cadillacs in exchange for Pintos.

Viva La Revolucion!

  • 01.27.2010
Paging Michael Moore…
 
The Washington Post reports on the deaths of 26 mentally-ill patients from hypothermia at one of Cuba’s largest hospitals.
 
The cause? Faulty windows and substandard care.
 
The Post notes:
 
“Communist Cuba provides free health care to all its citizens but, though the quality of its medical system is celebrated in leftist circles around Latin America, it is also plagued by shortages. Patients are expected to bring their own sheets and towels and sometimes their own food during hospital stays.”
 
Not to worry, the benevolent Cuban government has its priorities in order.
 
Cuba revealed last week that it has been lining up folks for sex-change operations at the government’s expense.
 
The Revolution lives!

Aloha ObamaCare

  • 01.27.2010
While Nebraska has been the target of much criticism and the central focus of the special deals that tainted the process of securing Senate passage of a health care bill, there are other states that received equally insidious protections.
 
A Drugwonks reader recently emailed me in an uproar about President Obama’s home state of Hawaii being on the receiving end of a special deal as well in the Senate bill.
 
Not giving the claim much credence initially, I looked into it and, lo and behold, she was right.
 
The Hawaii Reporter explains the specific exemption in the bill:
 
“H.R. 3590 also includes a provision requested by Senator Akaka which preserves Hawaii’s system of employer-mandated health care. A large percentage of Hawaii residents have health insurance because of the state’s employer-mandated health care system which depends on a long-standing exemption from the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act includes a provision that is intended to preserve Hawaii’s unique ERISA exemption and the employer-mandated insurance that the exemption enables.”
 
Hawaii has a law that mandates employers provide robust health plans to employees who work at least 20 hours a week. It is a law that has been on the books since 1974.
 
The Senate health bill has no such employer mandate.
 
This comment from Honolulu arbitrator and labor lawyer Michael Nauyokas stands out:
 
“We don’t need the feds to go in and mess up our system.”
 
One might argue the state of Massachusetts sent Congress that exact same message last week on behalf of the other 49 states.
 

Something that was ignored throughout the long ponderous, hollow debate over healthcare reform is clearly articulated by Jim Pinkerton:

"Healthcare is a great driver for the economy. It's the biggest employer, and medicine--not "health insurance"--is a product that people want to consume, sometimes desperately, ravenously. And not just Americans, but people around the world. So if that's not an economic engine, what is? Isn't that what we want?

But the argument has to be made. And alas, since, 98 percent of the discussion over healthcare has been over controlling costs--that is, shrinking the healthcare sector, perhaps provoking a recession in one of the few vibrant sectors of the economy--then it's little wonder that the country doesn't think of healthcare and medicine as an economic driver.

Serious Medicine Strategy has always been an economic strategy--now is the time to make that case."

seriousmedicinestrategy.blogspot.com/2010/01/democrats-slam-brakes-on-health-care.html
The movie  Extraordinary Measures  chronicles the story and struggle of John and Aileen Crowley to find a treatment to save the lives of their two children, both of whom have Pompe Disease, an irreversible and rare disorder that prevents the body from breaking down glycogen (a form of sugar).  Glycogen accumulates around the heart and skeletal muscles leaving children unable to walk or breathe on their own.   I won't provide a movie review here since information about this new release is available everywhere, except to say that Extraordinary Measures is a family movie in two important ways.

First, it is a movie that parents and kids (13 and up in my opinion) can and should see together.  It demonstrates the power of love and the determination parents have, even under the most dire circumstances, to provide children with hope and happiness each moment of their life.   It shows that you can go up against and use the system to make a difference and that the "system" will invest in that risk and reward it.  However the movie shows that making a miracle involves going against the grain, which is why meaningful change or advances take time.  And the movie does the best job of explaining the interesection of capital, science, passion and faith the constitutes the process of biomedical innovation.  A thoughtful, impactful movie about biotech and drug development?  Extraordinary Measures is that and more because it ties the process of innovation to the ultimate purpose and people who benefit.

Second,  the movie itself is the culmination of a process that has created a family of relatives, friends, supporters around the Crowleys.   I was fortunate to have attended a post-movie reception that Geeta Anand, the gifted and gracious author of The Cure held in NYC yesterday.  The group that gathered (including the Crowleys) -- including people involved in the movie,  Geeta's literary agent (and mine) Joelle Delbourgo, former associates, etc.  shared not only in the success of her book but in the spirit the book, the movie and the release of both have created:  A sense that while anything may not be possible,  nothing great happens without passionate intensity, friendship and cooperation and support of those you love.  Such is the recurring source of hope. 

Seeing the movie and reading The Cure will allow you to share in that experience.   Few movies have been made to convey such a message.  You read more about Extraodinary Measures and The Cure at the link below. 

http://www.thecurebook.com/


Boston Tea Party

  • 01.22.2010
So, what's next?

Listen to this new podcast, courtesy of the Burrill Report.
Let the big government types defend comparative effectiveness generated decisions that exclude and undermine the health of minorities... We are supporting a different, more compassionate and equitable approach...

Prospective Health Consortium: Development and Assessment of Predictive Tools in Disease Prevention and Wellness Promotion

A core mission of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest is to spur approaches to the problem of chronic illness in medically underserved communities that are not “one size fits all” or based on studies that ignore clinical, behavioral and genetic variations in disease progression and treatment response.    Our efforts build on the leadership and pioneering work of the National Minority Quality Forum in using data to map and identify these variations.

We are proud to support the launch of a consortium that would develop and evaluate a tool for health risk assessment and treatment selection based on predictive information relatively unique to that individual that can be used to reduce disease and promote wellness in medically underserved communities.

The idea of a consortium is based on discussions held in May at Brookings Institution at a meeting entitled “A Critical Path for Personalized Medicine”.   That meeting -- chaired by Dr. Mark McClellan and Sir Michael Rawlins -- discussed ways to demonstrate how predictive or personalized medicine could be used to improve the quality of care and health outcomes.  In particular, Ralph Snyderman MD, Chancellor Emeritus of Duke University Medical Center and CEO of Proventys, called for an evaluation of an tools  bringing together the latest technologies to predict events and enable intervention before damage occurs.    Combining personalized risk prediction and strategic health-care planning will facilitate what Snyderman calls ‘prospective health care’.

Stay tuned.
Maggie Mahar -- another liberal health care "expert" -- on why a bipartisan healthcare effort should not be pursued:

"Conservatives blame the sick for being sick, and they fault the poor for being poor.  Health care reform must be compassionate, and it must be equitable."

Read more here.
CMPI

Center for Medicine in the Public Interest is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization promoting innovative solutions that advance medical progress, reduce health disparities, extend life and make health care more affordable, preventive and patient-centered. CMPI also provides the public, policymakers and the media a reliable source of independent scientific analysis on issues ranging from personalized medicine, food and drug safety, health care reform and comparative effectiveness.

Blog Roll

Alliance for Patient Access Alternative Health Practice
AHRP
Better Health
BigGovHealth
Biotech Blog
BrandweekNRX
CA Medicine man
Cafe Pharma
Campaign for Modern Medicines
Carlat Psychiatry Blog
Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry: A Closer Look
Conservative's Forum
Club For Growth
CNEhealth.org
Diabetes Mine
Disruptive Women
Doctors For Patient Care
Dr. Gov
Drug Channels
DTC Perspectives
eDrugSearch
Envisioning 2.0
EyeOnFDA
FDA Law Blog
Fierce Pharma
fightingdiseases.org
Fresh Air Fund
Furious Seasons
Gooznews
Gel Health News
Hands Off My Health
Health Business Blog
Health Care BS
Health Care for All
Healthy Skepticism
Hooked: Ethics, Medicine, and Pharma
Hugh Hewitt
IgniteBlog
In the Pipeline
In Vivo
Instapundit
Internet Drug News
Jaz'd Healthcare
Jaz'd Pharmaceutical Industry
Jim Edwards' NRx
Kaus Files
KevinMD
Laffer Health Care Report
Little Green Footballs
Med Buzz
Media Research Center
Medrants
More than Medicine
National Review
Neuroethics & Law
Newsbusters
Nurses For Reform
Nurses For Reform Blog
Opinion Journal
Orange Book
PAL
Peter Rost
Pharm Aid
Pharma Blog Review
Pharma Blogsphere
Pharma Marketing Blog
Pharmablogger
Pharmacology Corner
Pharmagossip
Pharmamotion
Pharmalot
Pharmaceutical Business Review
Piper Report
Polipundit
Powerline
Prescription for a Cure
Public Plan Facts
Quackwatch
Real Clear Politics
Remedyhealthcare
Shark Report
Shearlings Got Plowed
StateHouseCall.org
Taking Back America
Terra Sigillata
The Cycle
The Catalyst
The Lonely Conservative
TortsProf
Town Hall
Washington Monthly
World of DTC Marketing
WSJ Health Blog