propaganda

[tim]

So there's a meme going around that it's not doctors or hospitals (you know, the ones who get richer by providing unnecessary care), but rather, patients who are to blame for the rising cost of health care, because they demand too much medical treatment.

Do you think so? Have you ever demanded care that was above and beyond what you needed? Have you known anyone who went out and got health care just for fun?

Or could it be that convincing people to blame themselves is a powerfully politically disempowering tactic?

I'm listening to an NPR program at the moment talking about how things would be better if people would just trust their doctors, who are currently cowed into submission giving patients the unnecessary and potentially harmful care they demand because insurance won't reimburse them for spending extra time explaining to the patients that it's not necessary, and due to fear of malpractice suits.

But why should you trust someone who puts their fear of losing money ahead of your welfare?

Comments

[luinied]

Or could it be that convincing people to blame themselves is a powerfully politically disempowering tactic?

It's not quite blaming themselves, though; it's blaming presumably richer (or at least better insured) people who are acting foolishly and wastefully. Which is really powerful; I'm assuming it's because people who believe in Good Old Republican Values generally aren't allowed to think poorly of those above them, so when a chance comes - be it celebrity heiresses or trial lawyers or whatever - the rage is ridiculously strong.