[quote=FlyerInHi]The equation should be solved for maximum aggregate health in a cost effective manner, not some technologies and drugs that we can point to and say “ah ha, we are the best.”

[/quote]

Those are death panels, LOL. JK, I agree with your sentiment, but that highlights the problem. Aggregate effectiveness is great until you’re on the secret VA patient waiting list or your kid is on the 4 year wait list in the Canadian Province for early childhood intervention.

The masses don’t like that because they’re *sure* it means they’ll get denied the treatment they need by Big Brother.

[quote]
NSR, you said earlier that the buffet should not be unlimited. The Japanese all-you-can-eat places make you eat everything you order so you don’t waste food. It’s all you can eat, but you’re not allowed to waste.

As Obama said, if we were to start from scratch we would do it differently. We would decide what % of GDP to spend and how to most effectively allocate the resources.[/quote]

My buffet analogy was poorly worded, I did say pile it on, what I really was thinking was pile on whatever I want. Which then of course gives of the Doctor, Patient, Insurance game of ‘justifying’ medical necessity.

And we have our 1 in basically 2 people with chronic conditions ranging from hypertension to diabetes. Unfortunately our system has made those incredibly expensive. Our insurers are paying out $10,000 more per person with diabetes compared to one without.

The UK spends about $4000…

Hence we expect the buffet to take those chronic conditions and pay for them, because we’ve made them too expensive to pay for ourselves.