The Road To Health Care Is Paved With Good Intentions

Everybody seems to have the best interests of the patient at the heart of the health care reform discussion. Or so the story goes. That would be a wonderful, benevolent, valiant effort, wouldn’t it?

Countless examples abound these days. The pharmaceutical industry wants to make sure they advertise their products directly with patients. It makes it easier for the patient to go to the doctor and ask for the correct medicine, right?

Physician associations want to make sure that tort reform and medical liability reform are established nationally. It will ultimately save dollars and increase access to care, right?

Physicians want to be able to own their own imaging and laboratory facilities so that they can provide more convenient services to the patient. They might even call it “one stop health care”. Convenience is a good thing, right?

Even the Supreme Court wants to protect patients from the “unconstitutionality” of health care reform.

But the road to health care is paved with good intentions – and a lot of money.

Every health-care-oriented special interest group in the land tells us that they want to put the patient first. Or so they say in the court of public opinion. There is a lot of time and effort expended to look good in the eyes of the patient. Isn’t it great to know that all of these special interests have the best interests of the patient firmly in the forefront?

But If all of these groups, industries, trade and professional associations have the patient’s best interests in mind, then why is there so much resistance to health care reforms that do actually promote fiscal and professional responsibility in the health care system?

Behind the scenes, while special interests are smiling at the patient and singing Kumbaya in joyous three-part harmony and promising to be the savior, they are paying millions of dollars to their lobbyist to promote their own agenda. Oh, and by the way, that agenda doesn’t really include you or me. Sorry.

Is there a conflict of interest when a physician owns the laboratory or imaging center that receives his patient referrals? Does this promote over-utilization of services? Are medications over-prescribed under the influence of the pharmaceutical reps? Are restraint-of-trade practices covertly utilized to maintain a gatekeeper model in an era of comparative effectiveness and clinical guidelines that promote efficacy and safety?

Evidence-based practice at first glance isn’t so lucrative. Fiscal and professional accountability to the patient isn’t so lucrative either. The status quo? Now that is lucrative.

No wonder that millions of dollars are being spent on lobbyists who advocate for the hidden agendas of all of these special interests, or that millions of dollars are being spent lining the pockets of our legislators so that perhaps one of these agendas will push forward. And interestingly enough, if a lobbyist gets close (but not quite), well, there is always the next legislative session to try and push that same agenda forward. Just make the check out to …

We need to take back health care. Remove the lobbyists from the equation. Remove the political agenda diatribe from the discussion. And bring the focus of the health care reform discussion back to the people that need it most – not the lobbyists, the patients.

Photo credits: 96dpi