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Donna Feldman
Denver Health ExaminerDonna Feldman grew up in New Jersey with a nutrition-obsessed mother who put wheat
germ in everything. She rebelled, but during a college all-nighter, she picked up a copy
of a popular nutrition paperback, eventually earning a Master of Science in Nutrition at Cornell University. She now has a private practice in nutrition counseling in
Boulder County. Contact her at health.examiner@mindspring.com.
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Opinion Monday - Headline disconnect
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by Donna Feldman, Denver Health Examiner
Elizabeth Edwards (Associated Press photo)
- Elizabeth Edwards, wealthy cancer patient whose husband made his fortune suing doctors for malpractice, wants the everyone to have “free” healthcare. Healthcare For America Now wants “quality affordable healthcare” for all of us. Local sponsors include Colorado Progressive Action and Colorado Progressive Coalition.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends young children (as young as 8) take cholesterol drugs. Seems childhood obesity is causing elevated cholesterol and artery damage in kids. Coincidentally, the American Academy of Pediatrics is a member of Healthcare For America Now. Well, someone has to pay for all those prescriptions. What better way to deal with the rising incidence of obesity-related disease in children than to hand out prescription drugs like candy? Do we want a system that trains children to deal with excess weight by taking medication? Well, if the medications are "free" in a single-payer system, then no worries.
- Meanwhile, in Britain, the vaunted single-payer health system has rejected a new breast cancer drug - it’s too darned expensive for the taxpayer-funded single-payer system to afford, so no one in Britain will be getting this latest treatment. Affordability rules, at least in Britain. Imagine if a government-funded single payer system in the US attempted to reject any drug because of expense? The affordability part of the equation will likely go out the window. US taxpayers can afford all the latest and greatest medical care for everyone.
- John McCain wants to tax the money employers spend on employee medical insurance. That’s guaranteed to cause a lot of complaints. It also might cause some people to re-think participating in employer-sponsored medical insurance. Right now, if you have employer-funded medical insurance, your employer is handing you a $12,000 tax free bonus each and every year. The problem is, you don’t get to decide where that $12,000 gets spent. Your employer decides what medical insurance company you use, not you. So if you have a problem, the insurance company has no reason to care about you and your issues. You aren’t the customer. Your employer is the customer. The $64 question is, will you get that $12,000 as a raise if you opt out? If you do, you can spend some of it on your own medical insurance plan, and McCain wants to give you a tax deduction for your purchase.
What does Barack Obama think?: The keywords "quality and affordable" are key parts of his proposals.
Topics: health insurance , single payer system
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