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Monday, November 19, 2007

The Massachusetts Plan for health Insurance, Success is what you say it is

I have mentioned the Massachusetts plan to solve the health care "crisis" by making everyone who can afford insurance buy it. This news report indicates that more people have have signed up for subsidized insurance than the state planed to have funds for. No problem , since they are using taxpayers' money , they will just get some more. This is a news item of the dog bites man type and would attract little interest.

What interested me and the author of the blog Health Care BS was that this is labeled a success. Labels are important and they have been used expertly in the medical care universe of discourse. The label "managed care" was a PR and propaganda home run. Who could be against care that is managed? The accurate label "rationed care" would not have flown.

The term "Medical home" cannot but evoke mom and apple pie. However, the version of managed care/P4P/control-what-the-doc-does that United Health Care has kicked off is anything but that. I have fumed about that before.

It seems that in Massachusetts, not everyone who is mandated to buy insurance has and many people who cannot afford insurance have signed up for a free health care program. I am not sure what part of this is a success.

Health Care BS quotes George Orwell. Here is another quote from Orwell.

Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.

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