Our Moral Stain

"When it comes to health care, most liberals are committed above all to ensuring that every American has insurance. In their view, the greatest achievement of the health care reform act is to finally erase the moral stain of the United States' being the only major developed country without universal coverage. But we also hold the questionable distinction of having the world's most expensive health care system - what about cost control?

This is a fine opinion piece by a thoughtful academic physician.  Reading it made me think, "We have met the enemy and it is us."  As a physician, I particpate in the scandalous cost of health care every day.  All of us do unnecessary tests.  All of us prescribe expensive meds when cheaper ones would work.  All of us do more procedures than needed because that's where our reimbursement comes from.  It's one thing to recognize this in the quiet of one's home -- it's another reality in the clinic.

Emanuel's essay is a good springboard for thought.  See: Download What We Give Up for Health Care

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