Re: Harry & Louise Part II

[METRA1001@aol.com]

Peter-

What this boils down to is this: back in 1996, AAHP published a book titled 
"Changing HealthCare" by AAHP and Ken Jennings, PhD. It was a rosy-scenario 
obvious sell-out of a book, glorifying the claims and "benefits" of MCO's, 
mangled, oops, I mean, managed care, and HMO's. 

To make a 300 page book short, it essentially said that managed care 
corporations will (right around the corner), once they are given a shot, not 
only CARE for their patients, they will "anticipate the needs" of mco/hmo 
patients, and have the exact care READY for the patient before the patient 
even is aware of the need for the care. BALONEY. 

Not only is this PURE balderdash and absolote horse hooey, there is not one 
word in the book, for obvious reasons, about THE REALITY OF HMO's: the 
systematic DENIAL of care, fudging (i.e. losing) specialist referrals, 
systemic denials of procedures based on some undeducated clerk's claim of 
"lack of medical necessity", obfuscations, escape in any and every form of 
responsibility, and decline of care endemic to managed care systems... In 
other words, this book is a pure PR dreamwork. It has NO basis in reality, 
and the real joke is, if you have ever been part of a managed care operation 
(I have been member of two of the *biggest and best*), THE REALITY is a far 
cry from the miraculous and glorious claims of this cheerleader type 
falsehood. It is an assault on modern medicine, and an insult to patients. 
Granted, it is a cash cow for executives. 

The fact that these guys and their minions, such as AAHP, will go to ANY 
extent necessary to AVOID trial by jury only reinforces the perception that 
their *way of excellence* cannot hold up to ANY kind of scrutiny. If they 
have nothing to hide, no problems in need of sweeping under the rug, so to 
speak, then why the relentless, tenacious fight to keep themselves, and their 
patient *care* out of the courtroom, and away from juries??? Why? Because 
juries would find them liable to an extent that would make the tobacco cases 
look like Barney episodes. They would lose left and right, and they KNOW it. 
THEY CANNOT AFFORD the scrutiny of a trial, because a fair, close glimpse 
would reveal their modern miracle as a mirage of the worst, and cruelest 
kind. 

Al

<< 
 In a message dated 8/23/99 7:50:21 PM EST, techdiff@ix.netcom.com writes:
 
 <<  America's trial lawyers - in support of legislation they're calling `The
  > Patients Bill of Rights.' But what it really does is give government
  > bureaucrats the freedom to create more regulations and more red tape - and
  > give trial lawyers more opportunities to cash in on all kinds of frivolous
  > lawsuits."  The ads then name the local House member they are targeting, 
 and
  > ask listeners to call to voice their opposition.
  > 
  > Kahn said health plans and business groups opposing managed care bills 
will
  > spend more than $1 million "working toward a cacophony" of criticism of 
the
  > bills. There will be TV advertising and "heavy radio" during the last two
  > weeks of the congressional break >>
  >>