By David Bozeman
President Obama's recess appointment of Donald Berwick as head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has triggered protests from conservatives, angry over such socialist-leaning comments as "excellent health care is by definition redistributional." But among his defenders is Ezra Klein of The Washington Post, writing on July 7th that conservatives should rejoice this appointment, given Berwick's history of advocating for greater patient say in the health care process and stressing long-term preventative measures to bring down costs.
These and other fevered defenses of Berwick sound a death knell for the future of inexpensive, market-based health care in this country, because they presuppose an issue of competence and efficiency overriding a basic question of government's role in routine medical procedures. His most controversial quote, that the decision is not whether we will have rationing, but whether we will ration with our eyes open, belies the original claims of Obama-care advocates that there would be no rationing. But then liberalism must typically camouflage itself to gain a foothold.
Now, the party line, expressed by bloggers and readers is that, “I would rather have these decisions made by a man of Dr. Berwick's caliber than by a greedy insurance company.” Berwick, you see, advised us, “Please, don't put your faith in market forces.” America's health care system, it seems, “runs in the darkness of free enterprise.”
To starry-eyed liberals, his reputation — multiple Harvard degrees and honorary knighthood in the British Empire for consulting on the formation of their National Health Service — trumps the logical question: why should any third-party bureaucrat wield such influence in day-to-day doctor-patient relationships?
Any Washington reformer who eschews the profit motive is conferred greater moral standing by liberals and the media over corporate executives in Omaha and Chicago who actually lose profits and positions by mistreating their customers — providing there is competition for them to run to. Not if Dr. Berwick has his way.
Get full story here.
President Obama's recess appointment of Donald Berwick as head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has triggered protests from conservatives, angry over such socialist-leaning comments as "excellent health care is by definition redistributional." But among his defenders is Ezra Klein of The Washington Post, writing on July 7th that conservatives should rejoice this appointment, given Berwick's history of advocating for greater patient say in the health care process and stressing long-term preventative measures to bring down costs.
These and other fevered defenses of Berwick sound a death knell for the future of inexpensive, market-based health care in this country, because they presuppose an issue of competence and efficiency overriding a basic question of government's role in routine medical procedures. His most controversial quote, that the decision is not whether we will have rationing, but whether we will ration with our eyes open, belies the original claims of Obama-care advocates that there would be no rationing. But then liberalism must typically camouflage itself to gain a foothold.
Now, the party line, expressed by bloggers and readers is that, “I would rather have these decisions made by a man of Dr. Berwick's caliber than by a greedy insurance company.” Berwick, you see, advised us, “Please, don't put your faith in market forces.” America's health care system, it seems, “runs in the darkness of free enterprise.”
To starry-eyed liberals, his reputation — multiple Harvard degrees and honorary knighthood in the British Empire for consulting on the formation of their National Health Service — trumps the logical question: why should any third-party bureaucrat wield such influence in day-to-day doctor-patient relationships?
Any Washington reformer who eschews the profit motive is conferred greater moral standing by liberals and the media over corporate executives in Omaha and Chicago who actually lose profits and positions by mistreating their customers — providing there is competition for them to run to. Not if Dr. Berwick has his way.
Get full story here.
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