Schwarzenegger's War on Physicians
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Some people think that it's unfair to characterize socialized medicine as "enslaving doctors."
They are wrong:
Apparently Schwarzenegger is borrowing a page from the Michael Bloomberg book and hoping that living in California is so irresistible (i.e., that demand is so inelastic) that physicians, nurses and other health care professionals won't simply pack up and leave the state, no matter how impossible the health care socialists make it to function there. Recent evidence suggests otherwise.
It is true that Schwarzenegger's proposal would increase reimbursement rates under California's existing plan, MediCal. But that can never offset the lunacy of the underlying concept: tax the people providing what you claim to want more of.
The economically inclined might also note that, if the demand for health care is inelastic, then physicians and hospitals can simply "pass on" the tax to patients. Which would mean that Schwarzenegger's idea of helping his constituents is by imposing an indirect tax on them.
Hopefully all this nonsense will be promptly targeted for termination.
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The rest of Schwarzenegger's proposal is basically just the Massachusetts plan reheated in the microwave — see my previous post.
They are wrong:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday proposed extending health coverage to California's 6.5 million uninsured residents, promising to spread the cost among businesses, individuals, hospitals, insurers and the government.How insane does one have to be in order to believe that the way to increase the supply of a scarce resource is by taxing the very people who are providing it?
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The governor said savings created by his plan would offset new fees he is asking doctors and hospitals to pay — 4 percent of revenue for hospitals and 2 percent for doctors.
Apparently Schwarzenegger is borrowing a page from the Michael Bloomberg book and hoping that living in California is so irresistible (i.e., that demand is so inelastic) that physicians, nurses and other health care professionals won't simply pack up and leave the state, no matter how impossible the health care socialists make it to function there. Recent evidence suggests otherwise.
It is true that Schwarzenegger's proposal would increase reimbursement rates under California's existing plan, MediCal. But that can never offset the lunacy of the underlying concept: tax the people providing what you claim to want more of.
The economically inclined might also note that, if the demand for health care is inelastic, then physicians and hospitals can simply "pass on" the tax to patients. Which would mean that Schwarzenegger's idea of helping his constituents is by imposing an indirect tax on them.
Hopefully all this nonsense will be promptly targeted for termination.
---
The rest of Schwarzenegger's proposal is basically just the Massachusetts plan reheated in the microwave — see my previous post.
Related Posts (on one page):
- Schwarzenegger's War on Physicians
- Massachusetts' False Insurance Analogy
Posted by Kip on
8 January 2007
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